COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what uses his Department has made of the annual survey of hours and earnings data produced by the Office for National Statistics in the last three years.

Bob Neill: The main use of the annual survey of hours and earnings by the Department is for area cost adjustments in the allocation of Formula Grant. It has also been used in analysis of socio-economic conditions such as housing affordability, labour market mobility and costs, and as input to impact assessments.

Broadband: Planning Permission

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers are available to local authorities to refuse planning approval for the erection of broadband cabinets.

Bob Neill: Broadband cabinets have permitted development rights under part 24 of the General Permitted Development Order, which means that many can be installed without the need to apply for planning permission. This permitted development right is, however, subject to a prior approval process which allows planning authorities to consider the siting and appearance of any cabinet before development commences. If they consider it appropriate, approval may be refused on these grounds.

Broadband: Planning Permission

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has had discussions with British Telecom on agreeing a code of conduct on the siting of broadband cabinets; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: No such discussions have been held.
	The Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003 set general conditions for British Telecom and other code operators. This includes the need for code operators to minimise as far as reasonably practicable impacts on the visual amenity of properties when installing electronic communications apparatus.

Capita

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many contracts his Department has awarded to Capita since May 2010; and what the (a) individual monetary value and (b) net worth was of each contract.

Bob Neill: Under a centrally approved Government agreement, the Department has an overarching contract with Capita Resourcing Ltd to supply interim management and specialist contractor staff on a call off basis. The majority of the contract value shown in the following below is paid to the contractor, with a margin retained by Capita which can range from 3.5% to 7.25%. The following appointments have been made under the contract since May 2010.
	
		
			 Job title Capital original contract start date Contract value total (exc. VAT) (£) 
			 Local Government Accountancy Adviser 21 June 2011 47,104.20 
			 Housing Reform Accounting Adviser 20 June 2011 8,043.75 
			 Internal Audit Service European Auditor 31 May 2011 32,304.96 
			 Regional Development Agency Transition Accountant 16 May 2011 38,416.00 
			 Deputy IT Director 9 May 2011 33,462.00 
			 Internal Audit Service European Auditor 9 May 2011 45,829.80 
			 Internal Audit Service European Auditor 9 May 2011 38,191.50 
			 Internal Audit Service European Auditor 9 May 2011 32,472.00 
			 Regional Development Agency Transition Accountant 19 April 2011 44,296.00 
			 Regional Development Agency Transition Accountant 19 April 2011 44,296.00 
			 Management Accountant European Regional Development Fund Closure 13 December 2010 49,590.00 
			 Human Resources Support Firebuy 8 November 2010 3,861.00 
			 Environmental Impact Assessor and Land Rights Adviser 6 September 2010 18,775.80 
			 Senior Environmental Impact Assessor and Land Rights Advisor 31 August 2010 24,621.66 
			 Environmental Impact Assessor and Land Rights Adviser 2 August 2010 20,987.88 
			 Territorial Facilitators 26 July 2010 48,936.66 
			 Security and Information Manager 26 July 2010 18,759.72 
			 Livelink Administration Support 19 July 2010 49,862.53 
			 Senior Environmental Impact Assessor and Land Rights Adviser 19 July 2010 18,759.72 
			 Territorial Facilitators 5 July 2010 42,978.00 
			 Private Finance Initiative Transactor 8 June 2010 2,846.25 
			 Territorial Facilitators 1 June 2010 47,154.00 
			 European Auditor 10 May2010 13,786.20 
			 Total value of new interim contracts since May 2010  725,335.63

Caravan Sites: Salford

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many unauthorised encampments were established in Salford and Eccles in (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010.

Andrew Stunell: According to the ‘Count of Gypsy and Traveller Caravans’ undertaken bi-annually by local authorities in England including Salford Metropolitan borough council and collated by my Department, there were no unauthorised encampments in Salford and Eccles on the dates of the count in January and July 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to promote user involvement in the design of services following the revocation of the statutory guidance, Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities.

Bob Neill: “Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities” was prescriptive around how local authorities should agree their priorities, engage their citizens, lead their communities and commission public services. Revocation of this guidance and associated duties enables local authorities to innovate and work in new ways to serve their local communities.
	We want to encourage authorities and civil society to collaborate more, including greater involvement for voluntary groups in the design and running of public services. In this context, we recently consulted on light touch statutory guidance on the best value duty setting out some reasonable expectations of the way authorities should work with voluntary and community groups and small businesses when facing difficult funding decisions. The consultation closed on 14 June and we expect to provide a government response and publish final guidance this summer.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions officials in his Department have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings since May 2010.

Bob Neill: 21 separate proceedings were undertaken during the last 12 months.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member of each political party has been refused by (a) a Minister in his Department directly and (b) his Department on behalf of a Minister since May 2010.

Bob Neill: The Department does not hold comprehensive records of whether requests for meetings made by hon. Members have been declined, and to assemble this information would involve disproportionate cost. However, my ministerial colleagues and I are always happy to consider any request made by any hon. Member for a meeting on departmental business.

Fire Services: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fire stations there were in (a) York, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) England at 1 May (i) 1997, (ii) 2010 and (iii) 2011.

Bob Neill: Numbers of fire stations are held centrally only at fire and rescue authority level.
	Accordingly, the number of fire stations by each fire and rescue authority in Yorkshire and the Humber and in England are shown in the table for 1997 and 2010.
	Data for York are not held centrally. Figures for 2011 are due for publication by September 2011.
	
		
			 Number of fire stations in Yorkshire and the Humber and in England at 31 March 1997 and 2010 
			 Fire and rescue authority 1997 2010 
			 Humberside 31 30 
			 North Yorkshire 37 39 
			 South Yorkshire 24 23 
			 West Yorkshire 50 48 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 142 140 
			    
			 England(1) 1,444 1,448 
			 (1) Excluding the Isles of Scilly. Source: Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

Housing Revenue Accounts

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  by how much the delegated expenditure limit of the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions changed in 2001-02 as a result of changes to the Housing Revenue Account Subsidy Scheme;
	(2)  how much Annually Managed Expenditure for major repairs in the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions and its successors charged as a result of changes to the Housing Revenue Account subsidy scheme in each year since 2001-02;
	(3)  by how much the Departmental Expenditure Limit of the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions was adjusted as a result of changes to the Housing Revenue Account in England in 2001-02; by how much that department's annually managed expenditure was increased as a result of the introduction of the Major Repairs Allowance; and what the budget lines were in each respect in each subsequent year for which figures are available.

Andrew Stunell: The 2000 spending review determined that in 2001-02 £1.6 billion would be transferred from Credit Approvals, classified as Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit to Housing Revenue Account subsidy, classified as Annually Managed Expenditure, to finance the new Major Repairs Allowance.
	The following table gives totals for the amounts of Major Repairs Allowance paid by year from 2002-03 to 2009-10, the latest audited figures available. We do not have equivalent figures for any change in Departmental Expenditure Limit to accommodate the allowance in these years.
	
		
			 Annual  managed expenditure 
			  Major  repairs allowance 
			 2002-03 1,528,961,056 
			 2003-04 1,455,753,376 
			 2004-05 1,402,024,575 
			 2005-06 1,353,498,281 
			 2006-07 1,307,534,539 
			 2007-08 1,249,478,557 
			 2008-09 1,240,045,822 
			 2009-10 1,245,696,591 
			 Notes: 1. Data taken from the 4th Housing Revenue Account subsidy claim form, excluding those below the audit threshold of £125,000. 2. Number of dwellings in 2002-03: 2,699,147; number of dwellings in 2009-10: 1,699,578. 3. Major Repairs Allowance is paid as part of Housing Revenue Account, which is an Annual Managed Expenditure programme.

Housing: Dorset

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has any plans for future housing development in south east Dorset.

Grant Shapps: holding answer 11 July 2011
	This Government have put in place a raft of measures to get house-building moving again. In addition to putting in place fiscal incentives for local authorities to develop housing, in the form of the New Homes Bonus and the reformed Community Infrastructure Levy, the Government are also accelerating the release of public sector land, investing £4.5 billion to help deliver over 150,000 new affordable homes and, together with house-builders, providing around £400 million for the new First Buy scheme, which will help nearly 10,500 first time buyers to buy a new build property over the next two years. While introducing incentives we are also abolishing top-down Regional Strategies through the Localism Bill. Together, this package of measures will enable people in all areas of the country, including south east Dorset, to support and shape future housing development.

Housing: Employment

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the possible effects of his proposed reforms to social housing on future levels of employment in the social housing sector in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England and Wales.

Grant Shapps: The Government's investment and reform will deliver more new affordable housing and therefore support jobs in construction and related industries.
	We are investing £4.5 billion to deliver up to 150, 000 new affordable homes. The Affordable Rent impact assessment, published June 2011:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/rentimpactassessment
	shows the number of jobs that could be supported, in England, under a range of scenarios. The impact assessment does not include estimates of the distribution of these jobs at a local level, as this will depend upon the eventual allocation of funding to providers.
	Since the completion of this impact assessment, the Homes and Communities Agency has received offers for funding from providers that have exceeded our original expectations, and we are confident that we are on track to deliver up to 150, 000 new affordable homes.

Housing: Parking

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effects of implementation of proposals in the Localism Bill on planning restrictions for car parking spaces on new housing developments.

Bob Neill: Planning policy on car parking spaces is set out in Planning Policy Guidance 13: Transport (PPG13). This was updated on 3 January 2011 to remove the requirement for local planning authorities to impose maximum parking standards for new residential developments. The Government will consult in July 2011 on the National Planning Policy Framework, which will include updated policies on transport. When the Framework is adopted it will replace current Planning Policy Statements and Planning Policy Guidance, including PPG13.
	The Localism Bill introduces new powers for neighbourhood planning. Neighbourhood plans can contain a wide range of policies, including potentially on parking. All neighbourhood plans will need to be in general conformity with the strategic policies set out in the Local Plan and will also need to be appropriate having regard to national policy.

Leasehold: Fees and Charges

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what plans he has to require all charges on leaseholders to be transparent;
	(2)  what plans he has to review the law relating to leasehold tenure.

Andrew Stunell: The Government recognise that where problems arise over leaseholders' homes—especially about the actions of managing agents—these can cause real inconvenience and, in some cases, lead to significant distress. The law therefore provides leaseholders with a wide range of rights in order to avoid these disputes or, where they arise, to enable them to be resolved. These include the right to ask for service charge information and to see supporting documentation.
	The Government also recognise the need to strike the right balance of rights and responsibilities between landlords and leaseholders, and expect landlords and managing agents to obey the law and act in a socially-responsible manner. As with all regulation, state intervention should be proportionate.
	Some leaseholders may find it stressful and burdensome to take a case against their landlord to a court, or even to a less formal leasehold valuation tribunal. It may be that the current processes could work more effectively or leaseholders could receive more help in exercising their rights.
	While the Government currently have no plans for a wide ranging review of leasehold law, they will keep a close watching brief and will not rule out making other changes.

Local Government Finance: Reviews

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will seek to have regard to the principles of fairness, equity and need in his forthcoming proposals for the review of local government finance.

Bob Neill: The resource review will publish shortly its proposals on the retention of business rates by local authorities. The Government have been clear that any proposals will ensure that all councils will have adequate resources to meet the needs of their local community. Councils which are more deprived will continue to receive central Government support.

Local Government Finance: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much general revenue funding has been allocated to the City of York council for services other than education in each year since 2007-08 in (a) cash and (b) real terms.

Bob Neill: The central Government revenue funding allocated to City of York council for services other than education in each year since 2007-08 in cash and real terms based on 2009-10 prices is tabled as follows:
	
		
			 £ 000 
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 Cash 240,489 251,744 261,089 
			 Real terms 251,167 255,843 261,089 
			 Source: Department for Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn (RO) returns. 
		
	
	The definition of central Government revenue funding used here is the sum of formula grant (revenue support grant, redistributed non-domestic rates), area-based grant and specific grants inside aggregate external finance i.e. revenue grants paid for council's core services.
	Figures exclude grants outside aggregate external finance (i.e. where funding is not for authorities' core services, but is passed to a third party, for example, rent allowances and rebates), funding for the local authorities' housing management responsibilities and those grant programmes (such as European funding) where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.
	It also excludes Dedicated Schools Grant a ring-fenced specific grant for education service. Formula grant is an unhypothecated block grant and area-based grant and certain specific grants are unring-fenced. Therefore it is possible for local authorities to spend these grants on any services including education.
	The 2009-10 real terms figures are calculated using the HM Treasury's latest available GDP deflators.

Local Government: Accountability

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for user involvement in the design of services following the repeal of the duty to involve.

Bob Neill: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has announced his intention to repeal the duty to involve. Repeal requires primary legislation; therefore until it is repealed via legislation, it remains a duty.
	The plan to repeal the duty is in line with the Government's commitment to freeing up local authorities to innovate and work in new ways to serve their local communities. Central Government should not be prescribing how local government engages with local people.
	We want to encourage authorities and civil society to collaborate more, including greater involvement for voluntary groups in the design and running of public services. In this context, we recently consulted on light touch statutory guidance on the Best Value duty setting out some reasonable expectations of the way authorities should work with voluntary and community groups and small businesses when facing difficult funding decisions. The consultation closed on 14 June and we expect to provide a Government response and publish final guidance this summer.
	An equality impact assessment initial screening
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/bestvalueequalities
	was carried out on a package of decentralisation measures including the repeal of the duty to involve. The screening showed that new best value guidance will balance out any possible equality impacts arising from the loss of the duty since it supplements the existing duty to consult under best value and underlines support for voluntary and community sector organisations. It will strengthen the role of voluntary and community sector groups in terms of engagement, funding and potentially running public services. It will also give greater freedom to councils to respond to local rather than central priorities and expand the scope of councils to collaborate with small businesses and voluntary and community sector organisations.
	Once the duty to involve is repealed, the separate duty to consult local representatives (which supports the duty of best value) will remain in place. This will be backed up by the additional support for voluntary and community groups in the best value guidance.
	In addition, the new duties contained in the Localism Bill (i.e. the Community Rights to Challenge and Buy) aim to have a greater impact on links between councils and communities.

Local Government: Pay

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities (a) have and (b) have not implemented a pay rise for those earning less than £21,000 per annum in 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: The information requested is not held centrally. While the Government's overall policy on public sector pay sets the context in which decisions about pay are taken locally by councils, Government have no role in determining annual pay awards in local authorities. These are for the employers and unions to negotiate whether locally, or within the framework of the relevant National Joint Committee.

Mayors

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions he has had with leaders of local authorities in cities where he proposes to introduce shadow mayors prior to mayoral elections.

Bob Neill: We do not propose to introduce shadow mayors. The committee in the other place considering the Localism Bill agreed on 23 June amendments, supported by the Government, which remove all provision for shadow mayors from the Bill.

National Planning Policy Framework

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to publish the National Planning Policy Framework.

Bob Neill: The National Planning Policy Framework will be published this month.

National Planning Policy Framework

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether the National Planning Policy Framework's proposed presumption in favour of sustainable development will permit development on the greenbelt in respect of (a) community buildings including schools, (b) commercial development, (c) affordable housing and (d) any other type of development;
	(2)  what arrangements are in place to protect greenbelt land from development as part of the National Planning Policy Framework's presumption in favour of sustainable development.

Bob Neill: The coalition agreement explicitly states that we will maintain green belt protection. The green belt has a valuable role in stopping urban sprawl and providing a green lung around towns and cities.
	Indeed, our proposed abolition of the unpopular regional strategies through the Localism Bill will stop the top-down pressure to remove the green belt in 30 areas across England.
	The presumption in favour of sustainable development requires councils to plan positively for the needs of each area, while safeguarding those things that require protection. Where plans are not in place or up-to-date, it makes clear that development should be allowed unless this would compromise the key principles for sustainability in the National Planning Policy Framework, including protection of the green belt.

Non-domestic Rates

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will ensure that Liverpool city council does not receive a reduction in business rate grant as a result of his proposed changes to local government finance.

Bob Neill: The Resource Review will publish shortly its proposals on the retention of business rates by local authorities. The Government have been clear that any proposals will ensure that all councils will have adequate resources to meet the needs of their local community.
	As the Deputy Prime Minister recently said to the Local Government Association's annual conference, no local authority will receive less funding when the new arrangements are introduced than they would have done under the previous funding system.

Non-domestic Rates

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which (a) fire and (b) local authorities are net (i) contributors to and (ii) recipients from the collection and allocation of business rates.

Bob Neill: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Corby (Louise Mensch) on 6 December 2010, Official Report, column 57W.

Non-domestic Rates

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions his Department has had with business organisations on his proposal for local authorities to retain business rates.

Bob Neill: An important part of the Local Government Resource Review has been extensive engagement with key partners to help inform our work.
	The Department has had regular discussions with business organisations on the issues raised by the review's consideration of local retention of business rates. In addition to bilateral discussions, the Department has held a number of working group meetings of business representative bodies.
	We will be publishing our proposals for consultation shortly.

Playing Fields: Wandsworth

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will issue a temporary designation for Barn Elms playing fields under the Green Areas Designation initiative.

Bob Neill: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 4 July 2011, Official Report, columns 1000-1001W, to the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpatrick).

Road Traffic: Planning

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he has given to Planning Inspectors about the judgments they should make in relation to the effects on levels of (a) traffic congestion and (b) pollution in relation to new developments.

Bob Neill: When considering called-in or recovered planning applications or appeals the standard guidance used by inspectors when making judgments concerning the effects of traffic congestion and pollution in relation to new developments is as follows:
	Traffic congestion—PPG13: Transport (ODPM, March 2001); Manual for Streets (DCLG/DfT, March 2007); Manual for Streets 2 (CIHT and endorsed by DfT/DCLG, September 2010); and Good Practice Guidelines: Delivering Travel Plans through the Planning Process (CLG/DfT, April 2009).
	Pollution—PPS23: Planning and Pollution Control (ODPM, November 2004); and PPG24: Planning and Noise (DoE, September 1994).
	We will consider how to take forward these issues in the forthcoming National Planning Policy Framework.

Social Rented Housing

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much social housing for rent was built in (a) York, (b) North Yorkshire and (c) England in each year since 1997; and how much social housing in each area he expects to be built in each future year for which projections have been made.

Andrew Stunell: Figures on additional affordable housing at national and local level for 1991-92 to 2009-10 are published by on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/affordablehousingsupply/livetables/
	Live Table 1006 shows the number of social rented homes provided in each area, including acquired and newly built homes.
	We are investing nearly £4.5 billion to help deliver 150,000 new affordable homes between 2011-12 and 2014-15. The majority of the homes delivered will be made available as affordable rent with some for affordable home ownership. The Department does not forecast local levels of future house building.

Social Rented Housing: Pensioners

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the number of pensioners living in the social housing sector in Sunderland Central constituency.

Andrew Stunell: The Department does not hold this information.

Social Rented Housing: Rents

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average change in service charges for tenants in social housing was (a) overall and (b) in each region in each of the last five years.

Andrew Stunell: The social housing regulator, the Tenant Services Authority, collects this information for private registered providers of social housing as part of its annual regulatory and statistical return, based on its regional analysis. This is set out as follows:
	
		
			 General needs housing 
			 Percentage 
			  2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 
			 London 4.5 8.9 8.9 6.8 1.1 
			 South East (0.6) 7.4 6.4 2.7 (11.7) 
		
	
	
		
			 South West 9.1 2.8 5.8 1.8 (5.6) 
			 East Midlands 7.1 13.9 1.2 10.9 (9.4) 
			 East of England 9.9 4.4 4.3 6.3 (10.5) 
			 West Midlands 7.9 15.1 7.0 (0.3) (10.9) 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 0.4 8.3 7.5 8.1 (14.1) 
			 North East 7.9 2.4 (6.3) 14.0 (26.2) 
			 North West 9.3 10.8 5.0 5.0 (23.7) 
			 England 5.5 8.7 6.4 4.4 (9.9) 
		
	
	
		
			 Supported housing (1) 
			 Percentage 
			  2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 (1) 
			 London 4.1 9.2 3.0 11.7 n/a 
			 South East 11.4 8.8 3.4 5.5 n/a 
			 South West 7.6 6.8 6.1 8.6 n/a 
			 East Midlands 4.1 9.7 9.3 16.0 n/a 
			 East of England 8.5 7.8 2.1 7.4 n/a 
			 West Midlands 18.6 4.0 5.0 9.3 n/a 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 8.8 15.6 7.1 5.8 n/a 
			 North East 21.1 9.4 (8.2) 5.1 n/a 
			 North West 10.5 2.8 8.2 7.3 n/a 
			 England 9.8 7.7 4.4 7.6 n/a 
			 (1) Figures not available before 2005-06. Note: There is no equivalent information collected for local authority social housing.

Taxation

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the introduction of tax increment financing.

Bob Neill: The Local Government Resource Review is developing proposals to allow councils to retain their locally-raised business rates. We will also introduce tax increment financing powers, allowing councils to fund key infrastructure projects by borrowing against future increases in business rates.
	We will be consulting on proposals shortly. Tax increment financing and the retention of business rates will be introduced through the forthcoming Local Government Finance Bill.

WALES

Departmental Regulation

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  how many regulations her Department has introduced (a) in the six months prior to 1 September 2010 and (b) in the six months after 1 September 2010 which it has determined do not impose costs on businesses;
	(2)  how many regulations that impose costs on businesses her Department has (a) introduced and (b) removed since 1 September 2010; what the net effect on the costs on businesses of such introductions and removals was; and what regulations have been excluded from the one-in one-out system because they address (i) emergencies and (ii) systemic financial risks since 1 September 2010;
	(3)  how many regulations that impose costs on businesses her Department (a) introduced and (b) removed in the six months prior to 1 September 2010; and what the net effect was on the costs on businesses of such introductions and removals.

David Jones: The Government's policy is to consider alternative to regulation. A list of regulatory measures introduced in the first half of 2011 can be found in the Statement of New Regulation in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member of each political party has been refused by (a) a Minister in her Department directly and (b) her Department on behalf of a Minister since May 2010.

David Jones: We are not aware of any requests from an hon. Member having been refused. The Secretary of State for Wales, and I are always happy to discuss matters of importance to Wales with hon. Members of all political parties.

Social Services: Finance

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the Dilnot Commission Report and its implications for Wales.

David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales, and I have discussed the work of the Dilnot Commission with ministerial colleagues in the Department of Health.
	The Government will consider the Commission's recommendations on how to achieve an affordable and sustainable funding system for care and support for all adults in England. The Department of Health will be producing a White Paper on wider social care issues next spring, and a progress report on the funding reform.
	We will work constructively with the Welsh Government on any aspects of the proposals which have implications for delivery of care and support in Wales.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has for the provision of direct payments to farms under the common agricultural policy from 2013.

James Paice: holding answer 5 July 2011
	The Government want to see a greater focus on measures to improve competitiveness across the EU, so as to progressively reduce the reliance of EU farming on subsidy. While direct payments will continue during the next financial perspective, there should be a clear downward trajectory and a programme of managed transition planning for their abolition.

Dairy Products: Meat

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proposals she has to reduce waste in (a) dairy supply chains and (b) red meat supply chains.

James Paice: The Government are working closely with the livestock industry on its product roadmaps. They are good examples of what can be achieved by bringing producers, processers and retailers together to commit themselves to more sustainable operation. The recently published Dairy Roadmap sets targets for waste recycling and recovery for both farmers and processers, and on amounts of recyclate used in packaging for retailers. Part two of The English Beef and Sheep Production Roadmap also looks at waste and efficiency issues through supply chains, extending the work begun on greenhouse gases in part one. While April's publication of the English Pig Meat Roadmap highlights the importance of animal health and carcase utilisation issues in avoiding waste in that sector. The Roadmaps can be found at:
	http://www.dairyco.net/library/research-development/environment/dairy-roadmap.aspx
	http://www.eblex.org.uk/publications/corporate.aspx
	http://www.bpex.org.uk/Article.aspx?ID=301329
	Additionally the Waste Resource Action programme (WRAP) carries out a range of activities to encourage the prevention of waste. These include:
	The provision of online tools and case studies;
	The facilitation of agreements to reduce waste from their products; for example, the Courtauld Commitment which concerns the reduction of packaging waste in the grocery sector.

Eggs: Imports

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect on the egg industry of imports of (a) egg products manufactured from shell eggs produced in systems in EU member states which do not comply with EU directives and (b) egg products manufactured from eggs produced in conventional cage production systems outside the EU.

James Paice: The Government are totally committed to the 2012 deadline to have phased out the keeping of laying hens in conventional cages in the UK.
	From 1 January 2012 it will be illegal to market eggs in this country from hens still in conventional cages.
	We are not able unilaterally to prevent egg products produced from eggs in conventional cages being imported from third countries. World Trade Organisation rules do not allow members to ban imports on the grounds of the welfare standards applied in third countries.
	We have, however, been at the forefront of efforts to convince the Commission that simply relying on infraction proceedings against non-compliant member states will not be enough to deal with the negative impact that non-compliance would cause and that additional measures would need to be put in place to prevent market disturbance and to protect compliant producers. We will continue to keep up the pressure on the Commission to act and act quickly.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Potatoes

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether genetically modified potatoes have been planted under application reference 10/R29/01 in 2011.

James Paice: The Sainsbury Laboratory planted potatoes under this consent in 2011 at the same site as the 2010 planting.

Hill Farming

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of former recipients of hill farm allowance are (a) participating in uplands entry level stewardship and (b) in receipt of the uplands transitional payment.

James Paice: An initial analysis of uptake suggests that by mid-January 2011, (a) 36% of HFA 2010 recipients had a live uplands entry level stewardship (Uplands ELS) agreement; and (b) 30% of HFA 2010 recipients had valid claims for the 2011 uplands transitional payment (UTP).
	A further analysis will be undertaken once a full year's uplands ELS uptake data are available in July, these will give a fuller picture of the percentage of former HFA claimants participating in either UTP or uplands ELS. It is expected that this will show a further increase in the proportion of HFA 2010 recipients with a live uplands ELS agreement: between mid-January and mid-June, the number of live uplands ELS agreements increased by 29%.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Regulation

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many regulations his Department has introduced (a) in the six months prior to 1 September 2010 and (b) in the six months after 1 September 2010 which it has determined do not impose costs on businesses.

David Mundell: In the six months prior to 1 September 2010 the Scotland Office introduced two regulations that did not impose costs on business. These were:
	The Representation of the People (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2010;
	The Management of Offenders etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 (Disclosure of Information) Order.
	In the six months after 1 September 2010 the Scotland Office introduced five regulations that did not impose costs on business. These were:
	The Scottish Parliament (Constituencies and Regions) Order 2010;
	The Scottish Parliament (Elections etc) Order 2010;
	The Scottish Parliament (Disqualification) Order 2010;
	The Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2010;
	The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2010.

Departmental Regulation

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many regulations that impose costs on businesses his Department has (a) introduced and (b) removed since 1 September 2010; what the net effect on the costs on businesses of such introductions and removals was; and what regulations have been excluded from the one-in one-out system because they address (i) emergencies and (ii) systemic financial risks since 1 September 2010.

David Mundell: Since 1 September 2010 the Scotland Office has not introduced or removed any regulations that impose costs on businesses.

Departmental Regulation

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many regulations that impose costs on businesses his Department (a) introduced and (b) removed in the six months prior to 1 September 2010; and what the net effect on the costs on businesses of such introductions and removals was.

David Mundell: In the six months prior to 1 September 2010 the Scotland Office did not introduce or remove any regulations that imposed costs on businesses.

Directors: Females

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with (a) the Minister for Women and Equalities and (b) Scottish Ministers about measures that could be taken to encourage increased employment of women at boardroom level in Scottish companies.

Michael Moore: I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equalities, on a range of issues relating to Scotland. The Scottish Government have their own Gender Equality Scheme.

Railways

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 30 June 2011, Official Report, column 891W, on high speed rail, what the outcome was of his discussions with Scottish Ministers on the extension of high speed rail services to Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Moore: Both I and the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, have encouraged Scottish Ministers to share their views and those of relevant Scottish Stakeholders in the Department for Transport's high speed rail public consultation process which is currently ongoing.

Social Security Benefits

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and (b) the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities regarding the impact in Scotland of the proposed benefits cap.

Michael Moore: I have regular conversations with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, where we have discussed many issues including the impact on Scotland of the proposed benefits cap.
	My most recent meeting with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) was in June of this year and I will be meeting with CoSLA again in October where we will have the opportunity to discuss the impact of the benefits cap in Scotland.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Air Ambulance Services: Fuels

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his policy is on an exemption from value added tax for fuel for the Air Ambulance for Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: Tax policy including value added tax is the responsibility of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the House of Commons Commission has any plans to generate low-carbon energy on the Commons part of the parliamentary estate.

John Thurso: The Parliamentary Estates Directorate (PED) continues to investigate the potential for both low and zero carbon generation on the parliamentary estate to help deliver the House's target for reducing carbon emissions from energy use.
	There are two areas where there are plans to introduce low carbon generation. The PED is developing options for the re-commissioning of the existing combined heat and power plant on the northern estate, and it is also reviewing options and benefits of installing tri-generation (combined heating, cooling and power) as part of the long-term vision for mechanical and electrical services within the palace.
	Under the medium-term Mechanical and Electrical Project measures are already being implemented to reduce the carbon footprint from energy use, for instance by improving the efficiency of chilled water systems. The project team is also looking at options for zero carbon energy generation such as providing infrastructure for solar thermal and/or photovoltaic generators located on the roof. The potential for a variety of other renewable energy sources, including wind and tidal energy, has been considered as part of the project There are significant planning constraints on a world heritage site, but the project team will continue to explore the feasibility of these technologies, and the infrastructure provided as part of this project will be capable of adaptation to cater for other systems which may be found suitable for heritage estates and become more economically attractive in future years.
	The feasibility of realising further carbon savings by utilising the Whitehall/Pimlico district heating scheme which provides carbon-neutral heat energy is also being examined.

Members: Postage Stamps

Steve Brine: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the cost to the public purse was of collection of unpaid postage for mail sent to hon. Members in each of the last five years.

John Thurso: The cost to the public purse for the collection of unpaid postage for items sent to Members and departments in the House of Commons is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2009 10,184.53 
			 2010 10,614.01 
			 2011 (January to end June) 6,493.07 
		
	
	No data are held on costs before 2009. No information is held on the split of unpaid postage costs between items sent to Members and those sent to departments of the House although the vast majority is on Members' items.

Schools: Visits

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many school parties from (a) Devon and (b) Newton Abbot constituency have visited the Palace of Westminster through the Parliamentary Education Service in each year since 2009.

John Thurso: The number of schools from (a) Devon and (b) the Newton Abbot constituency that have visited the Palace of Westminster through Parliament's Education Service in each year since 2009 is as follows:
	
		
			  Devon Newton Abbot 
			 2009(1) 18 (1)5 
			 2010 10 2 
			 2011 (to date) 10 2 
			 2011 (future bookings) 8 1 
			 (1) The Newton Abbot constituency was newly created in 2010. The figure for 2009 relates to the former Teignbridge constituency. 
		
	
	The total number of students visiting the Palace of Westminster on these visits, including future bookings for 2011, is 1,634; of these, 381 are from the Newton Abbot constituency.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Departmental Dismissal

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Attorney-General how many officials in the Law Officers' Departments were dismissed for under-performance as a result of the procedures arising from those Departments' staff appraisal systems in each of the last three years.

Edward Garnier: One Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) employee was dismissed in 2010 and one employee was dismissed in 2011 as a result of poor performance. These employees were dismissed under the Department's managing poor performance policy, which contains a formal procedure informed by but distinct from the Department's staff appraisal system. A further 37 dismissals since April 2009 were for unsatisfactory attendance and misconduct. The CPS does not hold data on the specific reasons for the dismissals of staff prior to April 2009.
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department dismissed four people for poor performance in 2008-09, three people in 2009-10, and one person in 2010-11.
	There have been no dismissals for underperformance at the Serious Fraud Office, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and the Attorney-General's Office.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Abortion: Advertising

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what representations he has received from (a) members of the public, (b) hon. Members and (c) Members of the House of Lords against television advertisements for abortion services since January 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has received 576 representations from members of the public on this matter since 1 January 2011 and one representation from an hon. Member, on behalf of a constituent. No representations from Members of the House of Lords have been received.

Active Places Scheme

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had on the renaming of the Active Places scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, has not taken part in any discussions about the renaming of Active Places.

Broadband: Alyn and Deeside

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the timescale for the introduction of superfast broadband internet access in existing areas of poor access in Alyn and Deeside constituency.

Edward Vaizey: The Government are supporting the Welsh Government to deliver superfast broadband to 90% of all premises in Wales by 2015.

Broadband: Public Finance

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will estimate the cost to the public purse in each region of the provision of broadband to rural areas in each year of this programme.

Edward Vaizey: The Government have made available £530 million to stimulate commercial investment in broadband infrastructure and to help deliver the best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015. A full list of allocations by location will be published later this month. The allocations will provide clarity for local procuring authorities on the cost of delivering superfast broadband to 90% of all premises and a fibre connection to virtually every community and a minimum of 2 Mbps to every premise and, will also indicate the gap in funding required to meet these objectives.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans he has for the delivery of broadband to rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The Government published Britain's Superfast Broadband Future in December 2010, which sets out the Government’s plans for delivering superfast broadband in rural areas, a copy can be found on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's website at:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/7829.aspx

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member of each political party has been refused by (a) a Minister in his Department directly and (b) his Department on behalf of a Minister since May 2010.

John Penrose: This Department does not keep a record of meetings declined by its Ministers or departmental officials.

Mobile Phones: Radio Frequencies

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with Ofcom on the introduction of a (a) 98 per cent. and (b) 99 per cent. coverage obligation for the forthcoming auction of 4G spectrum licences;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on introducing a (a) 98 per cent. and (b) 99 per cent. coverage obligation in the forthcoming auction of 4G spectrum licences;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with Ofcom on the application of the 4G population coverage obligation to each nation of the UK; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what consideration he has given to ensuring that the availability of 4G services in Wales is similar to the availability of such services in England; and what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on this matter.

Edward Vaizey: Following the Direction to Ofcom in December 2010, I have not discussed coverage obligations with Ofcom or the devolved Administrations. The design of the auction is a matter for Ofcom, including coverage obligations and in Ofcom's recent consultation they sought evidence to support a higher coverage obligation than the proposed 95% level.

Mobile Phones: Radio Frequencies

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he plans to ensure that 4G wireless broadband minimum target speeds of at least two megabits per second will be available to consumers who are not to be offered superfast broadband under Ofcom's current Spectrum criteria.

Edward Vaizey: Ofcom's current coverage proposal for the combined auction includes providing a service of not less than 2 Mbps to an area where 95% of the population lives. It is the Government's stated aim to ensure that broadband for all would be available at 2 megabits per second by 2015. We have not specified which technologies would deliver that, as it is likely that a mix of different technologies including fixed, wireless broadband (both 3G and 4G) and satellite solutions will be required, with the precise mix depending on local factors such as topography and demographics.

Olympic Games 2012

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent meetings he has had with the Mayor of London to discuss the economic legacy for east London of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Hugh Robertson: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, has regular meetings with the Mayor of London on matters connected with London 2012 and its legacy. The Mayor is responsible for the legacy for East London which is why government is legislating to enable him to set up a Mayoral Development Corporation to drive the regeneration of the area and its economic legacy post-games.

Public Lending Right

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse arising from implementation of his plans for the future management of the Public Lending Right.

Edward Vaizey: The level of savings arising from implementation of changes to the management of the Public Lending Right (PLR) depends on decisions made by the body that takes over the PLR functions. We are working to resolve as quickly as possible the issues associated with the transfer of functions.

Public Lending Right

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his policy is on the future administration of the Public Lending Right.

Jeremy Hunt: The Government recognise the importance of the Public Lending Right (PLR) to authors. We have made assurances that PLR payments will still be administered by a body operating at arm's length from Government and with the same independence and impartiality currently awarded to the PLR Registrar. We are working to resolve as quickly as possible the issues associated with the transfer of the Public Lending Right's functions to another body.

Radio Frequencies

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the potential income from the auction of 800 MHz spectrum with coverage targets of (a) 95% and (b) 100%.

Edward Vaizey: No assessment has been made of the potential income from the auction of 800 MHz spectrum with either coverage obligation.

Sports

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many individuals have registered for the Shift into Sport programme; and how many of those registered have attended and paid for a session.

Hugh Robertson: The Department does not hold this information. Shift into Sports is an initiative provided by the Fitness Industry Association (HA).

Tourism

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to support the development of the tourism economy in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England.

John Penrose: The Government's plans for promoting the growth of the visitor economy are set out in detail in the paper, “Government Tourism Policy” published in March 2011, and available at:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/7896.aspx
	Over the next four years VisitBritain will be running the “You’re Invited” programme, which will capitalise on the international interest in the recent royal wedding, as well as next year's diamond jubilee and Olympic and Paralympic Games, and showcase Britain to the world. The programme aims to attract 4 million extra visitors, spending £2 billion in the UK economy, which will support businesses, jobs and growth. The programme is backed by a £100 million marketing fund, funded by the public and private sector.
	VisitEngland is working closely with local areas and destinations, in line with Government's localism agenda, to grow the value of local tourism economies. This is co-ordinated through the National Strategic Framework for Tourism, which includes an action programme developed in consultation with the tourism sector. VisitEngland is currently working with destinations across the country, including Liverpool, on a campaign to deliver economic growth from the domestic market, and to support employment and job creation. ‘The time to be in England’ initiative will maximise the impact of the unique events of 2012, including the Queen’s diamond jubilee and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, helping to spread the benefits of the Games outside London and maintain a legacy of domestic tourism growth. The campaign is the subject of a bid to the second round of the Regional Growth Fund.
	Tourism policy seeks to help improve the sector's productivity and competitiveness, in particular, to address the burden of regulation affecting the industry. The Government's Red Tape Challenge focused on the hospitality sector in May, inviting the industry and the public to identify regulations holding back the industry and stifling growth. Alongside this, the Government have set up an industry task force, led by senior industry figures, to identify rules, regulations and inspections impeding the sector, and which might be cut, modified or abolished.

TRANSPORT

A120: Accidents

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a table setting out the number of road traffic accidents recorded on the A120 at the junction with Little Bentley Road and Little Bromley Road in each of the last 10 years, indicating the number of (a) fatalities and (b) non-fatal injuries; what safety assessment has been made of the road junction; and what steps his Department is considering to improve the safety of the junction.

Michael Penning: holding answer 11 July 2011
	All accidents involving a personal injury are recorded. The following table shows validated figures for all fatal and non-fatal injuries for the A120, at the junctions with Little Bentley Road and Little Bromley Road, in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
	
		
			  Fatal Non-fatal Total 
			 2009(1) 1 3 4 
			 2008 1 0 1 
			 2007 0 2 2 
			 2006 0 2 2 
			 2005 0 3 3 
			 (1) Validated data are only available up to 31 December 2009. 
		
	
	The Highways Agency has a comprehensive process for monitoring safety on the A120. This includes but is not limited to, a rolling three year accident analysis for each route, weekly safety inspections, fatal accident reviews and various asset condition surveys.
	The Highways Agency has developed a number of options, both long and short term to reduce the number of accidents at these junctions. The Agency is currently reviewing its capital programme in response to the spending review, to identify if a short term option can be delivered this financial year.

Airports

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 23 June 2011, Official Report, column 399W, on airports, what definition of connecting traffic his Department employs when seeking to define a hub airport;
	(2)  what definition his Department employs of the term main base in the context of a hub airport.

Theresa Villiers: There is no single widely agreed definition of a hub airport. The Department has not sought to provide a precise definition of a hub airport. However, as part of the process of developing a sustainable framework for UK aviation, the Department for Transport published a scoping document in March 2011 which provides the following broad definition:
	“A hub airport is used by airlines as the main base for connecting traffic where a significant proportion of passengers transfer between flights.”
	From the perspective of an airline, a main base for connecting traffic refers to an airport where the airline serves a high number of transfer passengers—that is passengers connecting directly between an inbound and an outbound flight—compared to other airports at which it operates.

Biggin Hill Airport

Jo Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the potential role of Biggin Hill airport in the regional aviation strategy for the south-east;
	(2)  if he will assess the effects of the operations of Biggin Hill airport on the Government's objectives for increasing the number of passengers using public transport.

Theresa Villiers: The Government are committed to creating a sustainable framework for UK aviation. In March 2011, we published a scoping document seeking stakeholders' views and evidence on a range of strategic aviation issues, including making better use of existing airport capacity across the UK. We will assess the potential benefits and impacts of proposals as we develop the new policy framework which we will publish for consultation next year.

Bus Services: Parliament Square

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ask Transport for London when it intends to restore the bus stop outside 2 Parliament street, Westminster.

Theresa Villiers: Under devolution, Transport for London, and ultimately the Mayor of London, are responsible for deciding transport priorities in London including the management of the bus network.

Codsall Railway Station: Parking

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to improve car parking facilities at Codsall railway station.

Norman Baker: I understand that neither train operating company which serves the station has plans to improve car parking facilities at Codsall railway station.

Cycling: Helmets

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of deaths which were prevented by cyclists wearing helmets in each of the last three years.

Michael Penning: We have not produced an estimate of the number of deaths prevented by cyclists wearing helmets in each of the last three years. However, research undertaken in 2009 by the Transport Research Laboratory for the Department for Transport included a biomechanical assessment of over 100 police forensic reports on cyclist fatalities and estimated that 10% to 16% of the fatalities could have been prevented if the cyclist had worn an appropriate cycle helmet. The research report ‘The Potential for Cycle Helmets to Prevent Injury: A Review of the Evidence’ is available to download for free from:
	www.trl.co.uk

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the Dartford-Thurrock crossing protocol was not invoked and the tolls lifted on 1 July at 1pm.

Michael Penning: The resulting traffic conditions on 1 July, following a small vehicle fire that closed two of the four lanes of the Dartford Crossing Bridge for an hour, did not meet the specified criteria for severe congestion set out in the operational protocol being trialled by the Highways Agency. The Road User Charge was therefore not suspended.
	The Highways Agency will continue to assess the traffic conditions that occur as a result of all significant incidents on a case-by-case basis, against the criteria for severe congestion, during the six-month trial of the operational protocol, to evaluate its effectiveness in dealing with such circumstances.

Driving Offences: Foreign Nationals

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has undertaken an assessment of the effects on road safety of introducing a power to issue on-the-spot fines to the drivers of foreign vehicles that break UK traffic laws.

Michael Penning: No assessment has been undertaken on the effects of road safety since the introduction of on-the-spot fines to the drivers of foreign vehicles that break UK traffic laws.
	However, we believe that the financial penalty deposit requirement (on the spot fines) provides an effective enforcement mechanism to deal with non-UK resident offenders who do not comply with GB road traffic rules. It has helped to alleviate a public concern about the variation in enforcement against UK and non-UK resident hauliers and we have seen a reduction in personal injury collisions involving foreign HGVs, although it is too early to establish any direct and significant link with the deposit scheme.

East Coast Railway Line: Industrial Disputes

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) full and (b) partial days of industrial action there have been on the East Coast Main Line since 2005.

Norman Baker: There have been no incidents of industrial action within the east coast franchise since 2005 that have caused cessation of train services on the route.

EU Law

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what European directives in force on 1 April 2010 his Department is responsible; and what European directives for which his Department is responsible have come into force since 1 April 2010.

Theresa Villiers: The stock of EU legislation in force is set out in the Eur-Lex database:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm
	It would involve disproportionate cost to review the entire stock to establish which pieces of legislation were currently the responsibility of the Department for Transport or its predecessor Departments.
	There are a number of directives, which have come into force since 1 April 2010, for which my Department has responsibility. The entry in force and transposition dates often differ and can sometimes be years apart. A list of directives and amending directives covering a range of cross-transport policies are as follows:
	Directive 1997/27/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 1997 relating to the masses and dimensions of certain categories of motor vehicles and their trailers and amending Directive 70/156/EEC.
	Directive 2005/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 amending Directive 1999/32/EC.
	Directive 2006/40/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 relating to emissions from air conditioning systems in motor vehicles and amending Council Directive 70/156/EEC.
	2006/87/EC Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels and repealing Council Directive 82/714/EEC.
	2006/137/EC Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 amending Directive 2006/87/EC laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels.
	Directive 2007/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the certification of train drivers operating locomotives and trains on the railway system in the Community.
	Council Directive 2008/59/EC of 12 June 2008 adapting Directive 2006/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels, by reason of the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania.
	Commission Directive 2008/67/EC of 30 June 2008 amending Council Directive 96/98/EC on marine equipment/
	Directive 2008/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 2008 on the inland transport of dangerous goods.
	Directive 2008/87/EC of 22 September 2008 amending Directive 2006/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels.
	Directive 2008/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on road infrastructure safety management.
	Directive 2008/126/EC of 19 December 2008 amending Directive 2006/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels.
	Directive 2009/26/EC of 6 April 2009 amending Council Directive 96/98/EC on marine equipment.
	Directive 2009/46/EC of 24 April 2009 amending Directive 2006/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels.
	Directive 2009/112/EC of 25 August 2009 amending Council Directive 91/439/EEC on driving licences.
	Directive 2009/113/EC of 25 August 2009 amending Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on driving licences.
	Directive 2009/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 amending Directive 2005/35/EC on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringements.
	Directive 2010/22/EU of 15 March 2010 amending, for the purposes of their adaptation to technical progress, Council Directives 80/720/EEC, 86/298/EEC, 86/415/EEC and 87/402/EEC and Directives 2000/25/EC and 2003/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to the type-approval of agricultural or forestry tractors.

London Underground: Guide Dogs

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  for what reasons he has not confirmed an amendment to the byelaws relating to guide dogs for the blind using moving escalators on London Underground;
	(2)  by what date he expects to confirm a revised byelaw to allow certain dogs to use moving escalators on London Underground.

Norman Baker: The London Regional Transport Byelaws 2000, which, among other things, prohibit animals from walking on moving escalators, are the responsibility of Transport for London (TfL).
	Peter Hendy, TfL's Commissioner of Transport, has recently written to the Secretary of State seeking to confirm a number of revisions to the byelaws, which include making an exception to this requirement for trained assistance and police dogs. Amendments now need to be made to the (national) railway byelaws to make the two sets of byelaws fully consistent. We expect these amendments and the confirmation of TfL's byelaws in the autumn.

Manchester Airport

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with (a) ministerial colleagues and (b) others on the potential for increasing capacity at Manchester airport.

Theresa Villiers: Department for Transport Ministers attend various meetings with the operators of regional airports where they discuss a range of issues including Government policy on aviation.
	The Government fully recognise the vital contribution airports make to regional economies. It is the Government's intention to develop an aviation policy framework which supports economic growth and seeks to create the right conditions for regional airports to flourish. On 30 March 2011 the Department for Transport published a scoping document that frames the debate on the future direction of aviation policy and asks a series of questions, including on regional airports. The responses to the scoping document will help to inform the development of a draft framework, which we intend to publish for full public consultation in March 2012.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is in respect of people who have an illness that has prevented them from (a) making a statutory off-road notice and (b) insuring their vehicle; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The keeper of a vehicle is required to insure their vehicle or notify that the vehicle is off the road. If the keeper fails to do either of these options the enforcement process is started automatically. Mitigating circumstances, including medical information, can be put forward and will be taken into account to decide if the enforcement should proceed.
	It should be noted that enforcement action is only started after a reasonable period of time has elapsed. Also, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will accept a statutory off-road notification made on the keeper's behalf by a spouse or next of kin.

Ports: Brazil

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make representations to his Brazilian counterpart in respect of the refusal of Brazil to allow British seafarers ashore whilst at Brazilian ports because the UK has not ratified the International Labour Organisation's convention 108.

Michael Penning: The UK has ratified the International Labour Organisation 108, a convention concerning seafarers' identity documents. The Department for Transport is not aware of any recent incidences where British seafarers have been denied access at Brazilian ports.

Public Transport: Olympic Games 2012

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to ensure the public transport network will operate effectively during the period of the London 2012 Olympics.

Theresa Villiers: The Olympic Delivery Authority has the statutory responsibility for transport planning for the 2012 Games. It has recently published a second edition of its Olympic Transport Plan which sets out the plans for ensuring effective operation of all the transport networks.

Thameslink: Rolling Stock

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the written statement of 16 June 2011, Official Report, columns 85-86WS, on Thameslink rolling stock, if he will publish the results of the value for money assessment applied to the bid submitted by Siemens with Cross London Trains.

Theresa Villiers: The procurement process has not yet concluded. The details of the bids are confidential to Siemens, Bombardier and the Department. To release this information could compromise their and the Department's commercial positions.

Thameslink: Rolling Stock

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  pursuant to the written statement of 16 June 2011, Official Report, columns 85-86WS, on Thameslink rolling stock, what assessment he has made of the impact on (a) direct and (b) supply chain employment levels of awarding the Thameslink contract to a bidder other than Bombardier;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that would be (a) directly and (b) indirectly created in the UK in the event of the Thameslink contract being awarded to (i) Siemens or (ii) Bombardier; and if he will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the right hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr Denham), on 11 July 2011, Official Report, columns 205-06W.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Care Tax Credit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many families receive support for childcare costs from both the childcare element of working tax credit and housing benefit or housing benefit and council tax benefit.

Steve Webb: The Department estimates that approximately 100,000 families receive support for child care costs from both the child care element of working tax credit and one or both of the disregards for child care costs available through housing benefit and council tax benefit.
	Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100,000.
	This estimate has been made using the Department's policy simulation model. This is a static microsimulation model based on data from the 2008-09 Family Resources Survey (FRS), uprated to the relevant year's prices, benefit rates and earnings levels.
	Additional data from the Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents has been used in the modelling to provide a better indication of the number of families receiving child care support.

Child Support Agency

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the powers of the Child Support Agency to investigate non-resident parents where a disparity appears between lifestyle and declared earnings.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the powers of the Child Support Agency to investigate non-resident parents where a disparity appears between lifestyle and declared earnings.
	The variations scheme is relevant if a parent believes there are circumstances which should be taken into account in assessing what should be paid to support a child that have not been captured within the standard maintenance calculation. Under the 2003 child maintenance scheme a “variation” can be allowed in cases where the non-resident parent seems to have a lifestyle which is inconsistent with the amount of income that has been used in the maintenance calculation, and which suggests that they might have other income which should have been taken into account.
	Generally a decision on whether to agree to a variation will be made on the basis of the information brought forward by the parent with care. However in certain cases—for example where there is a likelihood of serious fraud being committed—the Commission has the power to undertake further investigations. The Commission can appoint inspectors to obtain information required. Inspectors have the power to enter premises (except those only used as a home) to make enquiries and to inspect documents.
	In January the Department for Work and Pensions published its Green Paper, “Strengthening families, promoting parental responsibility: the future of child maintenance”. The purpose of the Green Paper was to seek views on the Government's strategy for reforming the child maintenance system by empowering parents to take responsibility for their children and families. The consultation is now closed and the Government is considering the responses.
	Variations will continue to be available to parents in the proposed new child maintenance scheme and will be based upon more robust HMRC information. They will continue to capture circumstances which are not accounted for in the maintenance calculation.
	We are currently in the process of working on the details of the new variations scheme in order to fulfil the Commission's commitments of simplifying and improving the child maintenance assessment process. Along with the new variations system there will be a new duty on the Commission to support parent with care applications by using readily available information sources such as HMRC. The detail of the new variations scheme will be included in draft regulations, which will be subject to consultation in due course.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department will explore the feasibility of low-carbon energy generation on its estate.

Chris Grayling: The Department has already examined the feasibility of low-carbon generation on its estate, in conjunction with its PFI Estates Partner, and will continue to do so, in line with commitments outlined within its Carbon Management Plan.
	A Salix-funded combined heat and power (CHP) plant was installed at the Department's Quarry House headquarters building in Leeds at the end of 2010. It is fuelled by natural gas and is classified as 'low-carbon' technology.' Initial indications are that performance is exceeding the estimated saving of £90,000 and 428tCO2 a year. The lessons learned from the project are now being used to explore opportunities across the estate.

Departmental Dismissal

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials in his Department were dismissed for under-performance as a result of procedures arising from his Department's staff appraisal system in each of the last three years.

Chris Grayling: The Department has dismissed approximately 1,000 employees in each of the last three years for reasons including under-performance, gross misconduct, and unacceptable levels of sickness absence.
	The number of officials specifically dismissed for under-performance in each of the last three years is recorded in the following table.
	
		
			 Reporting period Officials dismissed 
			 2008-09 15 
			 2009-10 27 
			 2010-11 38 
		
	
	The Department is committed to identifying and tackling under-performance and has robust procedures in place. Where poor performance is identified the Department will take the necessary measures. Initially this includes informal discussions designed to help, support and encourage the individual to perform to a satisfactory standard. Where this fails then formal warnings are given. Ultimately, if their performance fails to improve, then a sanction is applied and the individual may be dismissed or demoted.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member of each political party has been refused by (a) a Minister in his Department directly and (b) his Department on behalf of a Minister since May 2010.

Chris Grayling: In the main, Ministers from this Department try not to refuse meetings with Members of Parliament. However, detailed information is not available other than at disproportionate costs.

Disposable Income: Sunderland

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the median disposal household income was for Sunderland (a) before and (b) after housing costs in the latest period for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: We use households below average income data to provide estimates of median incomes. However, the sample size of this survey is not sufficient to provide estimates for small areas such as that requested.
	The following table shows the median equivalised disposable household income for the North East region of England, before and after housing costs.
	
		
			 Table 1: Median equivalised disposable household income, for the North East region of England, three year average 2007-08 to 2009-10, before and after housing costs 
			  Median equivalised weekly disposable household income (£) 
			  BHC AHC 
			 North East 367 327 
			 Notes: 1. These statistics are based on households below average income (HBAI) data sourced from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 2. Net disposable incomes have been used to answer the question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax, payments, national insurance contributions, council tax/domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 3. Figures have been presented on a before housing cost and an after housing cost basis. For before housing costs, housing costs are not deducted from income, while for after housing costs they are. 4. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 5. The reference period for HBAI figures is the financial year. For countries and regions within the UK, three survey years have been combined because single year estimates are not considered to be sufficiently reliable. 6. Weekly incomes are presented in 2009-10 prices and have been rounded to the nearest pound. Source: Households Below Average Income (HBAI) 2007-08 to 2009-10

Employment and Support Allowance

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether a person who no longer qualifies for contributory employment and support allowance (ESA) because they have been in the work-related activity group for over 12 months who is reassessed and moved into the support group more than two years after they began their initial claim will have contributory ESA reinstated.

Chris Grayling: Claimants who no longer qualify for contributory employment and support allowance (ESA) because they have been in the work-related activity group for over 12 months, who are then reassessed and moved into the support group, more than two years after they began their initial claim, will have their contributory ESA reinstated.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the input and effectiveness of user groups in aiding people with disabilities to obtain work through the Work programme.

Chris Grayling: DWP expects Work programme providers to work closely with those groups that can help them support as many people as possible into sustained employment, and the payment structure is designed to incentivise this. The programme launched nationally in June and has long-term goals and measures of success, so it is not yet possible to assess the extent or effectiveness of different organisations' involvement. A full independent evaluation of the programme is currently being commissioned.

Housing Benefit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many housing benefit claimants currently in receipt of such benefit claimed more than his proposed cap for housing benefit claims for (a) one, (b) two, (c) five and (d) five or more years.

Steve Webb: The information is not available.
	Information relating to the duration of claims can not be reliably derived from housing benefit administrative data.

Industrial Diseases

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will assess the potential implications for persons diagnosed with (a) stress-related illnesses and (b) musculoskeletal disorders of the recommendations relating to low-hazard workplaces in Common Sense, Common Safety when considering implementation of the recommendations.

Chris Grayling: The Health and Safety Executive has implemented the recommendations in “Common Sense Common Safety” by developing some interactive tools for employers in low-risk business environments such as offices and shops, as well as new straight forward guidance, “Health and Safety Made Simple”. These are intended to help employers to manage health and safety in their workplaces in a sensible and proportionate way,—including consideration of those diagnosed with stress or musculoskeletal disorders if applicable.

Industrial Health and Safety

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans his Department has to reduce the number of health and safety regulations which impose unnecessary burdens or which have been assessed by his Department as unreasonable.

Chris Grayling: On 21 March 2011 the Department for Work and Pensions announced a review of health and safety regulation, with a view to reducing unnecessary burdens on business. The review is being chaired by Professor Ragnar Löfstedt. A call for evidence was published on 20 May with a closing date for responses of 29 July. The findings of the review are expected to be published by the end of November.
	The Government's Red Tape Challenge will focus on health and safety legislation from 30 June to 21 July. Contributions are invited on which regulations should be scrapped, amended or left as they are. Professor Löfstedt will consider the contributions as part of his review.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged under 25 years in Sunderland Central constituency have been in receipt of jobseeker's allowance for more than 12 months.

Chris Grayling: The number of claimants under 25 years old in Sunderland Central constituency, who have been in receipt of jobseeker's allowance for more than 12 months, is 30.
	Notes:
	Caseload data is rounded to the nearest 5
	Source:
	May 2011 caseload data published on:
	https://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to answer the letter sent to him by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 31 May 2011 with regard to Mrs Rahman.

Chris Grayling: Despite an extensive search, I am afraid the Department has no trace of the letter.

Personal Income: Sunderland

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average household income is of a family in (a) social rented sector and (b) private rented sector accommodation in Sunderland Central constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: We use households below average income data to provide estimates of median incomes. However, the sample size of this survey is not sufficient to provide estimates for small areas such as that requested.
	The following table shows the median equivalised disposable household income by tenure for the North East region of England, before and after housing costs.
	
		
			 Table 1: Median equivalised disposable household income, for families, by tenure for the North East region of England, three year average 2007/08 to 2009/10, before and after housing costs 
			  Median equivalised weekly disposable household income for families (£) 
			 Tenure type BHC AHC 
			 Social renters 286 227 
			 Private renters 321 245 
			 Notes: 1. These statistics are based on households below average income (HBAI) data sourced from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 2. Net disposable incomes have been used to answer the question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax, payments, national insurance contributions, council tax/domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 3. Figures have been presented on a before housing cost and an after housing cost basis. For before housing costs, housing costs are not deducted from income, while for after housing costs they are. 4. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 5. The reference period for HBAI figures is the financial year. For countries and regions within the UK, three survey years have been combined because single year estimates are not considered to be sufficiently reliable. 6. Weekly incomes are presented in 2009/10 prices and have been rounded to the nearest pound. 7. Families are defined as a single adult or couple living as married and any dependent children, including same sex couples (civil partnerships and cohabitees) from January 2006. A household is made up of one of more families and is defined as a single person or group of people living at the same address as their only or main residence, who either share one meal a day together or share the living accommodation (i.e. a living room). In line with the wording of the question, analysis has been carried out at the family level. Source: Households below average income (HBAI) 2007/08 to 2009/10

Social Security Benefits

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish the modelling on the effect of the overall benefit cap carried out by his Department.

Chris Grayling: The costing model used to estimate the effects of the benefit cap uses DWP's policy simulation model (PSM), which is a static microsimulation model based on data from the 2008-09 Family Resources Survey, uprated to the relevant year's prices, benefit rates and earnings levels.
	The impacts of the policy to introduce a cap on the overall level of benefits that can be received by households in receipt of out-of-work benefit are published in the impact assessment and equality impact assessment which are available on the DWP website:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/welfare%2Dreform/legislation%2Dand%2Dkey%2Ddocuments/welfare%2Dreform%2Dbill%2D2011/impact%2Dassessments%2Dand%2Dequality/

Social Security Benefits: Offenders

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many ex-offenders in each Jobcentre Plus area who had sanctions placed on their benefits went on to reoffend in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not routinely collected and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the effects on the Exchequer of equalising men and women's state pension age as planned under the Pensions Act 1995, and then increasing the state pension age to (a) 66 by April 2021 and then 66 and a quarter by 2022 and 66 and a half by 2024 and (b) to 66 by April 2021 and then 66 and a quarter by 2023 and 66 and a half by 2025.

Steve Webb: The savings over the period 2020-21 and 2025-26 accruing from these timetables are (a) £32.4 billion (in 2010-11 prices) and (b) £30.6 billion (in 2010-11 prices).
	Between 2026-27 and 2034-35, these timetables would result in additional savings of £27.3 billion (in 2010/11 prices).

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the effects on the Exchequer of equalising men and women's state pension age as planned under the Pensions Act 1995, and then increasing the state pension age to 66 by April 2021.

Steve Webb: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave to her on 7 June 2011, Official Report, column 277W. The savings estimates presented in that reply are computed in line with the methodology used to prepare the estimates of DWP AME savings published in the impact assessment presented with the Pensions Bill 2011. They take into account lower spending on pensioner benefits and higher spending on working age benefits.
	The estimates presented in the reply are based on the current welfare system. Reliance on income-related pension benefits and working age benefits is assumed to remain in line with current age-specific rates of reliance.
	The estimates presented in the reply assume a baseline of the state pension age equalisation timetable as legislated by the Pensions Act 1995 and the increase to 66 as legislated in the Pensions Act 2007.
	The financial year breakdown of the savings is presented in the following table:
	
		
			 Savings on DWP spend on benefits 
			  £ billion, 2010-11 prices 
			 2020-21 2.2 
			 2021-22 4.5 
			 2022-23 4.8 
			 2023-24 5.0 
			 2024-25 3.9 
			 2025-26 1.3 
			 Note: Figures rounded to the nearest £0.1 billion. 
		
	
	The financial year breakdown of the savings resulting from the Pensions Bill 2011 timetable is presented in the following table:
	
		
			 Savings on DWP spend on benefits—Pensions Bill 2011 
			  £ billion, 2010-11 prices 
			 2016-17 0.3 
			 2017-18 0.9 
			 2018-19 1.7 
			 2019-20 3.3 
			 2020-21 4.4 
			 2021-22 4.5 
			 2022-23 4.8 
			 2023-24 5.0 
			 2024-25 3.9 
			 2025-26 1.3 
			 Note: Figures rounded to the nearest £0.1 billion.

Unemployment: East Midlands

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information his Department holds on the average period (a) a man and (b) a woman aged (i) 30, (ii) 40 and (iii) 50 years in (A) Derby and (B) the east midlands was out of work following loss of employment in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the average period (a) a man and (b) a woman aged (i) 30, (ii) 40 and (iii) 50 years in (A) Derby and (B) the East Midlands was out of work following loss of employment in the latest period for which figures are available. (65792)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions; however estimates for duration of unemployment for these ages and geographies are not available. An alternative source, the number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), is available for five year age bands from administrative data.
	The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) is taken from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. The length of a claim has been defined as the number of weeks between the start of an individual's claim and the date the claim was terminated. Table 1 shows the median length of completed claims for May 2011.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Median length of completed claims of jobseeker's allowance, (1)  May 2011 
			 Number of weeks 
			  Derby East midlands 
			 Age band Male Female Male Female 
			 30 to 34 11.6 16.2 11.6 11.0 
			 40 to 44 16.7 13.0 12.1 12.2 
			 50 to 54 9.9 8.0 12.1 11.1 
			 (1) Length of claim data are available only for computerised claims, which account for 99.7% of all claims. Source: Jobcentre Plus Administrative System.

Unemployment: Young People

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the level of youth unemployment in (a) England, (b) the west midlands and (c) Dudley borough in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The headline youth unemployment figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) cover the UK. These show the number of 16 to 24-year-olds unemployed on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition in February to April 2011 was 895,000, a fall of 35,000 over the last year. Nearly a third of unemployed young people are full-time students; the number not in full-time education and unemployed is 618,000, down 30,000 on the year. The latest unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds—the number unemployed as a proportion of the active labour force—is 19.3%.
	Figures for England, the west midlands and Dudley are available from the Annual Population Survey (APS). The latest data, covering January to December 2010, show a 16 to 24 ILO unemployment level of 738,000 in England and an unemployment rate of 19.2%. In the west midlands the level is 83,000, an unemployment rate of 21.2%. In Dudley there are around 6,000 unemployed people, an unemployment rate of 22.5%.
	APS data are not available monthly. The following table shows the number of 18 to 24-year-olds claiming jobseeker's allowance (JSA) in England, the west midlands and Dudley over the last 12 months. These figures are not adjusted for seasonal fluctuation so month-on-month changes should not be seen as an indication of the underlying trend. Comparing the latest May 2011 data with the same month last year suggests the number of JSA claimants aged 18 to 24 has fallen in England and the west midlands and risen in Dudley.
	
		
			 Number of 18 to 24-year-old JSA claimants 
			  England West midlands Dudley borough 
			 2010    
			 May 338,475 47,360 2,850 
			 June 318,895 44,860 2,745 
			 July 324,845 45,365 2,785 
			 August 336,775 46,560 2,830 
			 September 341,980 47,465 2,950 
			 October 334,980 46,195 2,855 
			 November 326,680 45,235 2,795 
			 December 321,125 44,825 2,745 
		
	
	
		
			 2011    
			 January 337,220 47,190 2,920 
			 February 355,045 48,720 2,960 
			 March 351,150 48,335 2,915 
			 April 347,080 47,970 2,960 
			 May 337,990 46,855 2,925 
			     
			 Change May 2010 to May 2011 -485 -505 +75 
			  (-0.1%) (-1.1%) (+2.6%) 
			 Source: Nomis https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/ 
		
	
	Tackling the high level of youth unemployment it inherited is a key priority for the coalition Government. Young people will benefit from radical reform of the welfare system which, through the Work programme, will create more flexible, personalised support to find work. In addition, the 2011 Budget invested £200 million in support specifically targeted at young people which will include work experience; skills training; guaranteed interviews and progression into apprenticeships.

Unemployment: Young People

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on reducing youth unemployment; and if he will publish the minutes of any such meetings.

Chris Grayling: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, his ministerial team and the Department's officials have regular discussions with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to discuss matters relating to youth employment.
	As part of the development of the cross-departmental participation strategy, which was announced in the social mobility document published in March 2011, Ministers and officials from both Departments, and from the Department for Education, meet periodically to progress this work with a view to publishing a document in autumn 2011.
	There is no standard practice of publishing minutes of ministerial discussions, which is in line with established principles from the previous Administration that inter-ministerial correspondence, discussion and the workings of Ministers’ offices are generally matters performed on a confidential basis.

Unemployment: Young People

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of future trends in the level of youth unemployment in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England and Wales.

Chris Grayling: The Department has made no such assessments.

Unemployment: Young People

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged between 16 and 24 years in Islwyn constituency were not in education, employment or training in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people aged between 16 and 24 years in Islwyn constituency were not in education, employment or training in the latest period for which figures are available. (65694)
	Unfortunately, reliable estimates are not available for this information.
	Published statistics for those not in education, employment or training in Wales can be found on the Welsh Government website at:
	http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/post16ed/part-labour/?lang=en

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Vehicles

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many non-combat vehicles leased or hired by his Department were manufactured in (a) the UK, (b) another EU member state and (c) a country outside the EU.

Peter Luff: Information on the origin of manufacture of vehicles leased to the Ministry of Defence is only available from the contractors in question and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as this has been provided. Information on the origin of manufacture of hired vehicles is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Substantive answer from Peter Luff to David Wright:
	In my answer to you on 30 June 2011 (Official Report: column 920W), I undertook to write to you and provide details on the origin of manufacture of non-combat vehicles leased to the Ministry of Defence.
	This information has now been received from Babcock Commercial Hire and Lex Autolease, and I can confirm that as at 15 June 2011, for non-combat vehicles leased by the Ministry of Defence: 4,600 were manufactured in the UK; 7,132 were manufactured in another EU member state; and 3,228 were manufactured in a country outside the EU. Local arrangements for the provision of cars outside of these arrangements apply in the smaller commands, and details of these are not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Army: Equipment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the Future Army Equipment programme.

Peter Luff: holding answer 11 July 2011
	The strategic defence and security review set out a requirement for reconnaissance forces, tanks, and armoured, mechanised and light infantry.
	The Ministry of Defence is currently undertaking a three month exercise to take forward the work needed to balance defence priorities and the budget over the long-term. As the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), has said, it is essential that we put the armed forces' finances on a firm footing for the years beyond the current spending settlement.

Special Advisers

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what expenses were claimed by (a) paid and (b) unpaid special advisers working in his Department in the last 12 months.

Liam Fox: Procedures for reimbursing staff expenses are set out in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) policy manual and are in line with the provisions set out in the Civil Service Management Code. As temporary civil servants, special advisers are subject to the same rules.
	Records indicate that the three paid special advisers claimed £70.65 for the period 13 May 2010 to 31 March 2011.
	The MOD does not employ any unpaid special advisers.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Drugs

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to replace poppy cultivation in Afghanistan with alternative agricultural crops.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development's (DFID) programmes promote legal agricultural livelihoods by helping to increase business opportunities and incomes for farmers through promoting alternative crops, their storage and processing, increasing access to local and exports markets, and strengthening the role of government in setting standards.
	For example, DFID supports the Comprehensive Agricultural and Rural Development Facility which aims to reduce the risk of a resurgence in poppy cultivation, by creating commercially viable and sustainable alternatives for farmers to generate a profitable income from livestock and market gardening.

Libya: Armed Conflict

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the post-conflict stabilisation force for Libya will be (a) a UN or (b) an EU military deployment.

Andrew Mitchell: The UN leads the international response to the Libyan crisis, and will lead post-conflict stabilisation work. The UK is in discussions with our international and regional partners regarding a post-conflict solution in Libya. It is too early to speculate who and what might be required, but we remain committed to supporting UN efforts to help the Libyan people build a positive future.

South Sudan: Overseas Aid

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of aid his Department has allocated to projects to build the capacity of the Government of South Sudan at (a) national, (b) state and (c) county level.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) has allocated assistance for capacity-building at all levels of government. All DFID-funded development programmes in South Sudan contribute to capacity-building and one, the Capacity-building Trust Fund, focuses entirely on this objective. A precise breakdown by level of government is not possible as programmes often operate at more than one level.

Sudan: Internally Displaced Persons

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department is providing to people displaced from the Abyei region of Sudan.

Andrew Mitchell: We are deeply concerned about the situation of civilians displaced by the recent fighting in the Abyei region. At present, lack of access to the conflict affected areas and populations hinders accurate humanitarian needs assessment by humanitarian personnel, but the current UN assessment is of about 100,000 people displaced. We are working with the United Nations to ensure that if security and access is granted, assistance will reach these displaced civilians. The UN has reserves of both shelter and food for such situations. As well as its ongoing support to the Common Humanitarian Fund, the UK has made an additional £10 million available for contingency planning to respond to any emergencies that are linked to southern secession.
	We are also working with the UN and wider international community to ensure that the new peacekeeping mission to Abyei, which is made up of Ethiopian troops, is able to fulfil its mandate to protect civilians who are threatened with imminent physical violence and to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance and personnel within the Abyei area.

UN Women

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on support for UN Women; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Mitchell: The UK has strongly supported UN Women from the outset, lobbying hard for its creation, providing transitional funding as it established itself and agreeing to a senior staff secondment. Following adoption of UN Women's strategic plan on 30 June the UK will provide £10 million in core funding to UN Women for each of the next two years. This will help UN Women achieve results for girls and women that include helping 15 countries adopt legislation to tackle domestic violence, supporting efforts to allow women to participate in political decision-making in 25 countries and holding the UN system to account on gender equality.

JUSTICE

Civil Proceedings

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he has any plans to implement a system of early exchange for medical reports in clinical negligence cases.

Jonathan Djanogly: My officials are working with the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) and claimant lawyer representatives to devise a pilot for dealing with clinical negligence cases valued from £l,000 up to £25,000. This will have a staged approach with the early exchange of medical details. The pilot is planned to run from April 2012.
	In the context of our proposals for the reform of conditional fee agreements as indicated in our response paper “Reforming Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales—Implementation of Lord Justice Jackson's Recommendations” (29 March 2011: column 173), my officials are also discussing with the NHSLA and other stakeholders how the commissioning of experts reports can be improved.

Land Registry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects his Department to publish the feasibility study on the Land Registry to scope out the opportunities arising from private sector investment.

Jonathan Djanogly: As I explained in my response to your previous question on this issue on 11 February 2011, Official  Report, column 486W, we do not intend to publish the findings of the feasibility study at this stage:
	We do not intend to publish the findings of the feasibility study at this stage. The findings relate to the formulation and development of government policy and are still under consideration by Ministers. Publication might deter Ministers and officials from raising, and having free and frank discussions, about the full range of possibilities in relation to any given policy or approach to implementation. This would have a detrimental effect on both the process of collective government and the quality of the decision-making. In addition, the findings contain information that if released would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of Land Registry and the Ministry of Justice.
	We are continuing to give careful consideration to the findings of the feasibility study, particularly with regard to how the options explored for the Land Registry link with the Government's wider data policy and the proposals to establish a Public Data Corporation.
	If the preferred option for Land Registry is a materially different ownership structure we remain committed to conducting a full public consultation on the proposals.

Office of the Chief Coroner

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the (a) Equality and Human Rights Commission and (b) Youth Justice Board were consulted in respect of his decision on the Office of the Chief Coroner.

Jonathan Djanogly: We did not consult with the Equality and Human Rights Commission or the Youth Justice Board in respect of the decision on the Office of the Chief Coroner. We have, however, discussed our proposals with a number of interested parties.

Office of the Public Guardian

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average time taken to process cases referred to the Office of the Public Guardian was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) were introduced by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), which was commenced on 1 October 2007.
	Figures on the average time taken by the OPG to process an application to register a Lasting Power of Attorney in the current financial year are outlined in the following table. The timescales include a statutory six week waiting period during which objections to registration can be made.
	
		
			  Weeks 
			 April 2011 12 
			 May 2011 12 
			 June 2011 13 
		
	
	For the previous financial year 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011, the average times to process an application in any given month varied between 11 and 14 weeks; the average of the monthly figures for 2011-12 was 12.5 weeks.

Personal Injury: Evidence

Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward proposals to change the evidence requirements in relation to whiplash injury in personal injury cases; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: Under the law of negligence, if a person has been injured as a result of the negligence of another person, he or she is entitled to recover compensation for the injury. If cases come to court, the claimant must provide evidence of the injury suffered in order to satisfy the court that the claim is justified. Restricting the ability to claim in relation to a particular type of injury could lead to injustice where people who have suffered a genuine injury as a direct result of another's negligence are prevented from recovering compensation.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners he expects to return to their country of origin to serve their sentences.

Crispin Blunt: I have previously indicated to the House on 17 May 2011, Official Report, column 140, that we expect to repatriate approximately 60 prisoners in 2011-12.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to amend the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Crispin Blunt: The Government are still considering reform of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

Rochester Young Offender Institution: Inspections

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking in response to the report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons on the announced inspection of HM Young Offenders Institution Rochester of 14 to 18 February 2011.

Crispin Blunt: As with all HM Inspectorate of Prisons establishment inspection reports an action plan will be produced responding in detail to each of the recommendations in the report.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Equality

David Hamilton: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities 
	(1)  when she plans to publish her Department's response to the Equality Act 2010: The public sector Equality Duty: reducing bureaucracy consultation;
	(2)  if she will publish her Department's response to the Equality Act 2010: The public sector Equality Duty: reducing bureaucracy consultation before Parliament considers the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 7 July 2011
	On 27 June 2011, draft specific duties regulations were laid before Parliament following the policy review which took place between 17 March and 21 April 2011. Alongside these regulations an Explanatory Memorandum was published which includes a summary of responses received to the policy review and to the previous comprehensive consultation on draft regulations that took place in 2010.
	The Explanatory Memorandum explains the Government’s rationale for their approach and we do not intend to publish a separate response to the policy review. We are, however, making arrangements to publish the responses received from organisations on the Home Office website.

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the (a) date of purchase, (b) amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry was of each transaction undertaken by the Equality and Human Rights Commission using the Government Procurement Card in each of the last three years.

Lynne Featherstone: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (The Commission) is an arm's length body; the following is based on information it has provided.
	The details of Government Procurement Card transactions undertaken by the Commission for (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11 have been deposited in the Library of the House. This includes, for each transaction: (a) date of purchase, (b) amount and (c) supplier. Level 3 or enhanced transaction details are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost; however each transaction does have a merchant category which is a broad description of the type of goods purchased.

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Accountancy

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities whether she plans to meet the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission to discuss its qualified accounts for 2009-10 audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General in respect of matters identified by the Comptroller and Auditor General relating to its (a) procurement, (b) disbursement grants, (c) senior management governance and (d) pay remit; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 27 June 2011
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equalities and I have regular discussions with the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) about a range of issues. These include the Commission's financial management, its unacceptable failure to produce an unqualified set of accounts since its inception, and its plans for improving its financial controls to ensure a better performance in future.
	We want to reform the EHRC to become a valued and respected national human rights institution and equalities regulator, but for that to happen it needs to get its own house in order.

Equality Impact Assessments

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities whether the Government Equalities Office provides guidance to Government Departments on the period of time to be allowed between the completion of an equality impact assessment and implementation of the policy the assessment covers.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 4 July 2011
	The Government Equalities Office (GEO) guidance, as set out in its recent quick start guide for public sector organisations on the public sector Equality Duty, makes clear that timeliness is essential in order for the Equality Duty to be fulfilled. The Duty must be complied with before and at the time that a particular policy is under consideration or a decision is taken, and also when it is implemented and reviewed. The Duty is a continuing one. The GEO does not specify the period of time to be allowed between completion of the relevant equality analysis and policy implementation.
	The Equality Duty does not impose a legal requirement to conduct an equality impact assessment. Compliance with the Duty involves consciously thinking about its three aims as part of the process of decision-making, but there is no prescribed process for doing this.

Equality Impact Assessments

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities if she will estimate the average amount of time taken for completion of an equality impact assessment which is not published at the same time as the policy proposal which it covers by the relevant Government department; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 4 July 2011
	The Government Equalities Office does not collate this information, as there is no reason to do so. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to make any such estimation.
	The Equality Duty requires public bodies to eliminate unlawful discrimination; advance equality of opportunity; and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it. It does not impose a legal requirement to conduct an equality impact assessment. Compliance with the Equality Duty involves consciously thinking about its three aims as part of the process of decision-making, but there is no prescribed process for doing this.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bahrain: Health Professions

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the treatment of health professionals arrested in Bahrain during protests in that country.

Alistair Burt: Our embassy in Bahrain has been able to attend some of the many trials currently taking place in the National Safety Courts, including the trials of the 48 medical staff. Our primary concerns in the legal process have been the methods of arrest, early access to legal counsel, allegations of abuse in detention, methods of interrogation, alleged coerced confessions, the charges brought against defendants, and the implications that medical professionals may not be allowed to carry out their duties without fear of recrimination.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised UK concerns about the trial of medical staff when he met the Crown Prince of Bahrain on 25 May 2011. I also raised the issue in my public statement of 1 June 2011. Our ambassador to Bahrain continues to raise our concerns at the highest level with the Government of Bahrain to ensure that due process is followed in all cases and that human rights are fully respected.

Bahrain: Politics and Government

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has discussed with his Bahraini counterpart allegations of intimidation of protestors outside the Bahrain embassy in London.

William Hague: Our ambassador in Bahrain has raised the cancellation of Government scholarships of some of the Bahrainis who protested in the UK with the Minister of Justice in May. The scholarships were subsequently reinstated.
	We have not been approached about any further allegations of intimidation of protesters outside the Bahrain embassy, nor have FCO officials received any further reports in their conversations with the police. I have not therefore raised this with my counterpart the Minister for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al Khalifa. If evidence were to come to light we would of course respond.
	My discussions with the Government of Bahrain are focused on ensuring that the National Dialogue leads to genuine political reform, which meets the legitimate aspirations of the people, and ensuring that the Government of Bahrain responds to the reports of human rights abuses.

Bahrain: Politics and Government

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the alleged use by Saudi troops deployed in Bahrain of vehicles supplied by UK-based companies; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We have seen no evidence that UK equipment and vehicles supplied to the Saudi Arabian forces were used in a repressive way in Bahrain since we have seen no evidence that Saudi or other GCC forces have done anything other than safeguard installations in Bahrain.

Special Advisers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on special advisers' travel by (a) Government car, (b) private hire car, (c) train, (d) bus, (e) commercial aircraft and (f) private aircraft in each year between May 2004 and May 2010.

David Lidington: A breakdown of travel costs for Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) special advisers between April 2008 and April 2010 when accompanying the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is as follows:
	(a) Government car—None
	(b) Private hire car—£1,604.15
	(c) Train (including Europe)—£387
	(d) Bus—None
	(e) Commercial aircraft—£46,203.13
	(f) Private aircraft—travel for my right hon. Friend and his team travelling on private aircraft was not costed on an individual basis, but for the group as a whole.
	Detailed information on costings has not been retained for the years previous to April 2008.
	The total cost of FCO ministerial and private office travel (including special advisers) is published on a quarterly basis.

Egypt: Constitution

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Egyptian counterpart on the constitutional declaration which states the principles of sharia law should be the basis of any new constitution.

Alistair Burt: Article 2 of the Constitutional Declaration of 30 March 2011 reiterated the language on sharia law set out in Egypt's 1971 Constitution. The Declaration also set out that members of the first People's Assembly and Shura Council will elect a provisional assembly to prepare a new draft constitution, which will be presented to the people in a referendum. It is not for the UK to dictate what should be acceptable to the Egyptian people, but we encourage the Egyptian Government to continue to consider wider constitutional reform in due course.
	The Declaration also provided further clarity on the transition process, which we welcomed. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) reiterated the UK's support for a successful transition to civilian democracy and the key step of pluralistic parliamentary elections during his visit to Egypt on 2 May 2011. It is important that the people's voice is heard through free and fair democratic elections leading to a return to civilian Government.

European Union: UK Membership

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the economic benefit of UK membership of the EU.

William Hague: HM Treasury regularly reviews, for the benefit of Parliament and the public, a wide range of studies by external commentators that attempt to assess the economic cost and benefits of the UK's membership of the European Union.
	The most recent update, along with a previous literature review from 2005, is published on the Treasury's website:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/foi_disclosures_index.htm
	following a request under the Freedom of Information Act. Neither review is a cost-benefit analysis. Rather, both reviews summarise published evidence on the economic impacts of the UK's membership of the European Union (EU), and cover for example the reported impacts on UK trade, foreign direct investment and productivity.
	The Government are clear in their view that EU membership is in the UK's national interest. For example and as set out in the BIS Trade and Investment Analytical Paper No 4 - The UK and the Single Market, which can be found at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/international-trade-investment-and-development/docs/u/11-719-uk-and-single-market.pdf
	the Single Market is the world's most important trading zone, generating total GDP close to £10 billion in 2010 and providing us access to 500 million consumers without the barriers of customs or tariffs. European markets account for half of the UK's overall trade and foreign investments and as a result, around 3.5 million jobs in the UK are linked to the export of goods and services to the EU.

Greece: Asylum

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2011, Official Report, columns 1030-31W, on Greece: asylum, how many UK experts are seconded to the European Asylum Support Office; and what plans he has for the future number of such secondments.

Damian Green: I have been asked to reply.
	No UK experts are currently seconded to the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). However, the UK Border Agency seconded one official between 23 February and 24 March 2011 to work with EASO in Greece and plans to second a further two, also to work in Greece, in the near future.
	The UK Border Agency would be happy to agree further secondments beyond these at EASO's request, if its resources permitted.

Libya: Politics and Government

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who the members are of the Libya contact group.

William Hague: Membership of the International Contact Group has varied over time. At the time of the last meeting of the group in Abu Dhabi, on 9 June, 2011, 27 countries and international organisations attended as members and 14 countries and international organisations attended as observers.
	At the 9 June meeting the member countries/organisations were: Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, EU, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan Delegation, Luxemburg (represented by Belgium), Malta, Morocco, NATO, Netherlands (represented by Belgium), Norway (represented by Denmark), Poland, Qatar, Spain, Sweden( represented by Denmark), United Kingdom, United Nations.
	The observer countries/organisations were: African Union, Arab League, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, GCC, OIC, Portugal, Romania, South Africa, Sudan, The Vatican, Tunisia, and the World Bank.

Libya: Politics and Government

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funds have been provided to the Transitional National Council in Libya through the temporary financing mechanism; and on what date those funds were supplied.

William Hague: Qatar has provided $100 million to the National Transitional Council (NTC) in Libya through the temporary financing mechanism. Those funds were supplied on 23 June 2011.

Libya: Politics and Government

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects any further funds to be supplied to the Transitional National Council in Libya through the temporary financing mechanism.

William Hague: Qatar has contributed $100 million, and Kuwait pledged at the last International Contact Group meeting to contribute approximately $180 million to the National Transitional Council (NTC). We expect this in the near future. We are engaging with other potential contributors.

Libya: Sanctions

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the implementation of EU sanctions in ports in western Libya.

William Hague: The UK and European Union (EU) partners are committed to the robust implementation of sanctions against Libya. The implementation of restrictive measures is a matter for competent authorities in each member state of the EU. In the UK, the asset freeze against designated port authorities in Western Libya has direct effect in UK law via Council Regulation 572/2011. Criminal and civil penalties for breaching the asset freeze prohibitions are contained in the Libya (Asset-Freezing) Regulations 2011. HM Treasury published a notice containing details of the sanctions against the ports on its website, which was also emailed to several thousand subscribers.

National Malaya and Borneo Veterans Association

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent (a) meetings and (b) correspondence he has had with the National Malaya and Borneo Veterans Association; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: There have not been any recent meetings with the National Malaya and Borneo Veterans Association. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received correspondence from members of the association relating to the decision by the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals to allow the Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal to be accepted but not worn.

Pakistan: Religious Freedom

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on the protection of religious freedoms in Pakistan.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) discussed minority rights and religious freedoms with Acting Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar when he visited Islamabad in June. We engage regularly with both the Ministry for Inter-faith Harmony and Minority affairs and with the Ministry of Human Rights. Most recently, I met with the Minister for Human Rights and the Prime Minister’s adviser for Religious Minorities on 5 and 7 July 2011.
	We call on the Government of Pakistan to uphold the fundamental rights of all Pakistanis, regardless of their faith or ethnicity.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on military strikes in the Kordofan state in Sudan.

Henry Bellingham: Recent reports suggest that violence is continuing in many parts of Southern Kordofan. There are reports of aerial attacks by Sudanese armed forces; of abuses against civilians carried out by soldiers from both sides; and of innocent civilians being caught up in the violence. The British Government condemns the ongoing violence and calls all parties to cease hostilities immediately. The recent Framework Agreement on Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile is a step in the right direction but must lead to a ceasefire without delay, so that humanitarian aid can reach those in need, and talks on the future of Southern Kordofan can take place without continuing violence.
	We urge the parties to keep to the commitments made in the framework agreement, and work urgently for a peaceful and long lasting resolution.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to facilitate a peaceful solution to the situation in the Abyei region of Sudan.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), chaired a meeting of the Foreign Secretary's Advisory Group on Human Rights on 8 June 2011, which Amnesty International attended, and where the situation in Syria was discussed.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have regular contact with Amnesty International, discussing a wide range of human rights issues, including Syria.

Syria

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether briefing was provided by officials of his Department to the hon. Member for Braintree before his meeting with President Assad of Syria in June 2011.

William Hague: Officials from my Department met the Lord Commissioner of Her Majesty's Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Braintree (Mr Newmark), in London on 23 and 24 June. They provided him with briefing to make clear the UK position on the unacceptable violence in Syria and the steps we think the Syrian regime should take to stop the violence and begin meaningful political reform. Officials also updated him on the situation on the ground immediately prior to his trip.

Yemen: Arms Trade

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the alleged transfer on 14 March 2011 of armoured vehicles and personnel carriers from Saudi Arabia to Yemen; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Our embassy in Sana'a reported on 16 March 2011 that a Saudi vessel unloaded 75 armoured vehicles at the port of Aden and that it appeared that these were received by the Government of Yemen. There was no further detail and we have received no confirmation of the report.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Catering and Retail Services

Frank Field: To ask the Leader of the House what representations he has received on the First Report of the Administration Committee, Catering and Retail Services in the House of Commons, HC 560.

George Young: None. It is for the House of Commons Commission and Mr Speaker to respond to the Committee's report.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

National Assembly for Wales: Elections

Paul Murphy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Wales about new electoral arrangements for the National Assembly for Wales.

Nicholas Clegg: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given by the Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), on 11 July 2011, Official Report, column 6W.

CABINET OFFICE

Birth Rate

David Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the male to female birth ratio was (a) in 1981, (b) in 1983, (c) in 1987, (d) in 1992, (e) in 1997, (f) in 2001, (g) in each year between 2002 and 2007 and (h) on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the male to female birth ratio was in (a) 1981, (b) 1983, (c) 1987, (d) 1992, (e) 1997, (f) 2001 (g) each year between 2002 and 2007 and (h) on the most recent date for which figures are available.
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2009. The table below shows the sex ratio for live births occurring in England and Wales for the years requested.
	
		
			 Sex ratio (1)  for live births, selected years between 1981 and 2009, England and Wales 
			  Sex ratio: live male births per 1,000 live female births 
			 1981 1,055 
			 1983 1,056 
			 1987 1,053 
			 1992 1,053 
			 1997 1,051 
			 2001 1,050 
			 2002 1,055 
			 2003 1,051 
			 2004 1,054 
			 2005 1,049 
			 2006 1,047 
			 2007 1,057 
			 2009 1,052 
			 (1) The sex ratio shows the number of live male births per 1,000 live female births 
		
	
	Data in the table above are available for the years 1999-2000 in table 1 at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/summarytables.xls
	The sex ratio at birth for 2010 will be published on the ONS website on 13 July 2011.

Civil Service: Yorkshire

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many full-time equivalent civil servants were employed in (a) York and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber in (i) May 1997 and (ii) May of each subsequent year.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many full-time equivalent civil servants were employed in (a) York and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber in (i) May 1997 and (ii) May of each subsequent year. (65674).
	In order to provide the information requested for York, ad hoc analysis has been required. This analysis is based on the Mandate collection (1997-2006), which provides approximately 90 per cent coverage of Civil Service departments, though for years prior to 2003 coverage is lower. The Annual Civil Service Employment Survey has been used for 2007-2010 estimates, and this provides 100 per cent coverage.
	The estimates provided for Yorkshire and the Humber are based on the Mandate collection supplemented by departmental returns (1997-2005) and the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (2007-2010) both of which provide 100 per cent coverage of Civil Service departments and agencies. The estimate for 2006 is based on the Mandate collection only and provides approximately 90 per cent coverage.
	The survey reference points for the estimates are, 1 April for years 1997-2005, 30 September 2006-2007 and 31 March for 2008-2010. Estimates relating to May of each year are not available.
	The estimates for York and Yorkshire and the Humber are shown in Table 1.
	
		
			 Table 1: Civil service employment in York and Yorkshire and the Humber (1) 
			 Permanent employees, full-time equivalent 
			  1997 (2) 1998 (2) 1999 (2) 2000 (2) 2001 (2) 2002 (2) 2003 (2) 2004 (2) 2005 (2) 2006 (3) 2007 (3) 2008 (4) 2009 (4) 2010 (4) 
			 York(5) 1,560 1,460 1,490 1,630 1,760 2,140 2,420 2,760 2,850 2,750 (6)2,850 (6)2,860 (6)2,970 (6)2,960 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber(7) 32,270 32,010 32,030 33,060 33,890 35,050 35,570 39,140 38,670 34,500 36,330 36,370 36,580 37,200 
			 (1) Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10, and numbers less than five are represented by ‘—’. (2) Survey reference date 1 April. (3) Survey reference date 30 September. (4) Survey reference date 31 March. (5) 1997-2006 Mandate only—incomplete coverage of Civil Service departments. 2007-2009 Annual Civil Service Employment Survey. (6) The Annual Civil Service Employment Survey uses post code to derive location. The former Central Science Laboratory (CSL), now Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) is now classified as being in Ryedale based on post code information but is included here for consistency with previously published estimates. (7) 1997-2005 Mandate and departmental returns. 2006 Mandate only—incomplete coverage of Civil Service departments. 2007-2010 Annual Civil Service Employment Survey. Sources: Mandate collection (1997-2006) Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (2007-2010)

Cybercrime

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what his most recent assessment is of the threat faced by the UK from cyber attack; and what his policy is on how to respond to that threat;
	(2)  what the timetable is for delivery of all cyber security programmes initiated since May 2010.

Francis Maude: This Government have recognised the real and increasing risk to the UK's national security from cyber attack. The National Security Council has assessed cyber security as a Tier 1 threat in the National Security Strategy published on 18 October 2010, Official Report, column 48WS.
	The Government take the issue of cyber security very seriously and have recently announced additional funding of £650 million to protect the United Kingdom and to respond effectively to threats from cyberspace.
	The National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) went live in April 2011 and is managed by the Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance (OCSIA). The NSCP will run over four years.

Departmental Contracts

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the Government collects information on the countries in which its suppliers are based.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office, on behalf of the UK public sector, collates an annual statistical return to the EU on contracts awarded above the EU threshold, including the nationality of the supplier. These data are collated and published at EU level and the most recent return, for the year 2009, can be found at:
	http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/product_details/dataset?p_product_code=TSIER090

Directors of Public Prosecutions

Helen Goodman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether former Directors of Public Prosecutions and senior officials of the Crown Prosecution Service are required to clear any contractual arrangements with external organisations contemplated within a specified period of leaving office with the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments in the Cabinet Office.

Francis Maude: Under the Civil Service Management Code all civil servants, including Directors of Public Prosecutions, are subject to the business appointment rules for two years after leaving office.

Immigration

James Clappison: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of (a) UK nationals, (b) non-UK EU nationals and (c) non-EU nationals were in (i) full-time and (ii) part-time employment in the UK in each year since 1997; and what the percentage rate of change was for UK nationals in each type of employment as a proportion of the UK working age population in each of those years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many and what proportion of (a) UK nationals, (b) non-UK EU nationals and (c) non-EU nationals were in (i) full-time and (ii) part-time employment in the UK in each year since 1997; and what the percentage rate of change was for UK nationals in each type of employment as a proportion of the UK working age population in each of those years. 64525
	Tables 1 and 2, as follows, show estimates of the total number and proportion of persons employed for UK nationals, non-UK EU nationals and non-UK and EU nationals by full-time and part-time employment for each year since 1997.
	Table 3 shows UK nationals by type of employment as a percentage of the total UK population aged 16-64 over the same time period.
	Labour market statistics published in the monthly “Labour Market Statistical Bulletin” previously described as working age (men aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59) have now been replaced with statistics based on those aged 16-64 for both men and women. Consequently, the estimates provided have been produced on this basis.
	
		
			 Table 1: People aged 16 and over in employment by full-time and part-time and by nationality. Three months ending March, 1997 to 2011. United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			 Thousand 
			  Total in employment (1) UK nationals Non-UK EU (2)  nationals Non-UK and non-EU nationals 
			  Total (3) Full - time Part - time Total (3) Full - time Part - time Total (3) Full - time Part - time Total (3) Full - time Part - time 
			 1997 26,245 19,618 6,618 25,316 18,921 6,387 216 161 56 510 382 128 
			 1998 26,546 19,870 6,671 25,507 19,097 6,405 242 176 66 588 445 143 
			 1999 26,909 20,105 6,801 25,855 19,295 6,559 271 203 67 571 447 124 
			 2000 27,239 20,323 6,910 26,148 19,507 6,638 279 211 68 633 474 158 
			 2001 27,505 20,487 7,005 26,306 19,578 6,717 293 223 71 711 533 177 
			 2002 27,674 20,651 7,014 26,411 19,683 6,721 325 262 63 768 582 184 
			 2003 27,966 20,724 7,229 26,606 19,686 6,908 346 265 81 846 644 200 
			 2004 28,327 20,893 7,423 26,886 19,792 7,084 412 318 93 878 670 207 
			 2005 28,635 21,337 7,286 27,001 20,056 6,933 478 382 96 999 779 220 
			 2006 28,863 21,509 7,342 27,064 20,101 6,951 605 490 114 1,057 812 244 
			 2007 28,976 21,545 7,419 26,947 19,934 7,002 923 769 154 1,101 839 261 
			 2008 29,417 21,873 7,504 27,116 20,024 7,057 1,088 913 173 1,206 930 273 
			 2009 29,074 21,490 7,534 26,713 19,640 7,028 1,119 909 208 1,235 936 296 
			 2010 28,726 20,969 7,700 26,459 19,264 7,145 1,077 847 227 1,185 855 326 
			 2011 *29,142 *21,176 *7,910 *26,636 *19,264 *7,325 *1,308 *1,041 **263 *1,193 *868 **319 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Proportion of people aged 16 and over in employment by full-time and part-time and by nationality. Three months ending March, 1997 to 201. United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			 Percentage 
			  Total in employment (1) UK nationals Non-UK EU (2)  nationals Non-UK and non-EU nationals 
			  Total (3) Full - time Part - time Total (3) Full - time Part - time Total (3) Full - time Part - time Total (3) Full - time Part - time 
			 1997 58 43 15 58 43 15 60 44 15 50 38 13 
			 1998 58 44 15 58 44 15 62 45 17 52 39 13 
			 1999 59 44 15 59 44 15 60 45 15 50 39 11 
			 2000 59 44 15 59 44 15 62 47 15 52 39 13 
			 2001 59 44 15 60 44 15 63 48 15 51 38 13 
			 2002 59 44 15 60 44 15 64 52 12 52 40 13 
			 2003 60 44 15 60 44 16 65 50 15 54 41 13 
			 2004 60 44 16 60 44 16 60 47 14 57 44 13 
			 2005 60 45 15 60 45 15 66 53 13 59 46 13 
			 2006 60 45 15 60 45 15 68 55 13 59 46 14 
			 2007 60 44 15 60 44 15 68 56 11 57 43 13 
			 2008 60 45 15 60 44 16 70 59 11 59 45 13 
			 2009 59 44 15 59 43 15 69 56 13 59 45 14 
		
	
	
		
			 2010 58 42 15 58 42 16 67 53 14 56 40 15 
			 2011 58 42 16 58 42 16 70 56 14 57 41 15 
			 (1) Includes those who did not state their country of birth. (2 )1995 Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Irish Republic, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Finland and Sweden 2005 Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia join 2007 Bulgaria and Romania join (3) Includes those who did not state whether they were in full-time or part-time employment. Note: Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates, are described as follows: Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: ONS Labour Force Survey 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: UK Nationals by type of employment as a percentage of UK population aged 16 to 64. Three months ending March, 1997 to 2011. United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			 Thousand and percentage 
			  UK nationals as a percentage of UK working age population (1) 
			  UK population aged 16-64 Total (percentage) In employment Full - time Part - time Not in employment (1) 
			 1997 36,685 96 68 51 17 28 
			 1998 36,821 95 68 52 17 27 
			 1999 37,002 95 69 52 17 27 
			 2000 37,217 95 69 52 17 26 
			 2001 37,461 95 69 52 17 26 
			 2002 37,693 94 69 52 17 26 
			 2003 37,920 94 69 52 17 25 
			 2004 38,194 94 69 51 18 25 
			 2005 38,542 94 69 52 17 25 
			 2006 38,899 93 68 51 17 25 
			 2007 39,236 92 67 50 17 25 
			 2008 39,513 92 67 50 17 25 
			 2009 39,718 91 66 49 17 26 
			 2010 39,927 91 64 48 17 27 
			 2011 40,118 91 64 47 17 27 
			 (1) Both unemployed and inactive Source: ONS Labour Force Survey

Job Creation

Karen Buck: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of new jobs created in (a) the public sector and (b) the private sector in each of the last three years were part-time.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of new jobs created in (a) the public sector and (b) the private sector in each of the last three years were part-time. 64876
	I regret that estimates of job creation are not available.
	As an alternative, the table provided shows the number of people in full-time and part-time employment for the public and private sector, over the same period.
	
		
			 Full-time and part-time employment levels in the public and private sector (1) , three months ending March, 2009 to 2011—United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			 Thousand and percentage 
			  Private (2) Public (3) 
			  Full time Proportion of private sector Part time Proportion of private sector Total Full time Proportion of public sector Part time Proportion of public sector Total 
			 2009 16,367 75 5,390 25 21,771 5,085 71 2,076 29 7,165 
			 2010 15,880 74 5,460 26 21,354 5,044 70 2,147 30 7,193 
		
	
	
		
			 2011 16,062 74 5,620 26 21,697 5,055 70 2,195 30 7,253 
			 (1) It should be noted that public and private sector estimates: are based on survey respondents' views about the organisation for which they work; do not correspond to the National Accounts definition used for official Public Sector Employment estimates. (2) Includes self-employed and unpaid family workers. (3) Includes nationalised industry or state corporation, central Government, civil service, local government or council (incl. police, fire services and local authority controlled schools or colleges), university or other grant funded educational establishment, health authority or NHS trust and armed forces. Source: ONS Labour Force Survey

New Businesses

Michael Fallon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many new businesses have started up in (a) Sevenoaks, (b) West Kent and (c) Kent since 6 September 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many new businesses have started up in (a) Sevenoaks, (b) West Kent and (c) Kent since 6 September 2010.
	Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births are available from the ONS release on Business Demography at
	www.statistics.gov.uk
	However, statistics for 2010 will not be available until December 2011.

Public Data Corporation

Paul Beresford: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made in the development of the Public Data Corporation.

Francis Maude: Since announcing the Public Data Corporation in January 2011, significant progress has been made. My officials are working closely with their counterparts in the Shareholder Executive in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and HM Treasury.
	As announced in the Budget earlier this year, we are considering the merits of machinery of government changes to facilitate the development of a Public Data Corporation (PDC) through a sponsoring Department. We are putting in place a Transition Board (previously referred to as the Shadow Board) which will be jointly chaired by myself and the Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs, the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey). This Transition Board will oversee the establishment of the PDC Board.

Public Data Corporation

Paul Beresford: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he expects to announce (a) the agencies and data to be included in the Public Data Corporation, (b) how the data will be made available, (c) what the licensing terms will be for the data and (d) who will oversee and regulate the corporation.

Francis Maude: In line with the Government's statement at Budget we will be publishing a statement on the Public Data Corporation (PDC) data policy in the autumn which will cover these points.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Export Licences: Saudi Arabia

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) standard individual export licences, (b) standard individual trans-shipment licences, (c) open individual export licences, (d) open individual trade control licences, (e) standard individual trade control licences and (f) Council Regulation 1236/2005 licences have been withdrawn from Saudi Arabia since March 2011.

Mark Prisk: Six standard individual export licences have been voluntarily surrendered by the exporter. No licences have been revoked by the Government.

Business: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses there were in (a) York Central constituency and (b) City of York local authority area in (i) May 1997, (ii) May 2010 and (iii) the latest date for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many businesses there were in (a) York Central constituency and (b) City of York local authority area in (i) May 1997, (ii) May 2010 and (iii) the latest date for which figures are available.
	Annual statistics on the number of enterprises are available from the ONS release; UK Business: Activity, Size and Location at www.statistics.gov.uk. These estimates relate to the count of live businesses in March of each year, not May. The earliest period for which reliable estimates are available is 2000. As the constituency of York Central only came into effect on 6 May 2010 the former constituency of City of York has been used for 2000.
	The table below provides estimates for the number of enterprises for (a) City of York constituency for 2000 and York Central constituency for 2010 and, (b) York Unitary Authority for both 2000 and 2010.
	
		
			 Count enterprises for York Unitary Authority, City of York (2000) and York Central (2010) Constituency 
			  Number 
			 2000  
			 City of York 2,655 
			 York Unitary Authority 4,645 
			 2010  
			 York Central 2,715 
			 York Unitary Authority 5,745

Consumers: Contracts

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure the rights of customers with respect to statutory provisions for cooling-off periods.

Edward Davey: The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 and the Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer's Home or Place of Work etc. Regulations 2008 provide consumers with a cooling-off period of seven days for consumers purchasing most goods and services at a distance or away from business premises. It is proposed that the new EU consumer rights directive will extend these cooling-off periods to 14 days. This will be implemented into UK law.
	The Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations 2004, the Consumer Credit (EU Directive) Regulations 2010, the Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Contracts Regulations 2010 and the Trading Schemes Regulations 1997 all provide consumers with a cooling-off period of 14 days.
	The Supply of Extended Warranties on Domestic Electrical Goods Order 2005 provides consumers who purchase such warranties with a 45 day cooling-off period. The OFT is currently reviewing the effectiveness of this legislation.

Flexible Working

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to improve flexible working rights for parents with children with special educational needs.

Edward Davey: On the 16 May 2011, I launched the Modern Workplaces Consultation, which includes proposals on how we are going to meet the commitment we made when entering Government; to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees.
	Parents of children under 17, parents of disabled children under 18, and carers of certain adults already have the right to request flexible working, and many use it to help manage their work and caring responsibilities effectively, including when their child has special educational needs.
	This extension will open up flexible working to all employees and will help embed the culture of flexible working within businesses, enabling many more employees to benefit from it.

Green Investment Bank

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  when he plans to announce the location of the headquarters of the Green Investment Bank;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of (a) the numbers of new staff and (b) staff costs required by the Green Investment Bank after (i) one year and (ii) five years.

Mark Prisk: The Green Investment Bank's location will be decided after state aid approval has been given and an announcement will follow that decision.
	It is not envisaged that the Green Investment Bank will employ a large number of staff. During this Parliament, it is expected to grow to a staff level of between 50 and 100 employees. It is too early to make assessments about staff costs.

Higher Education: Finance

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage philanthropy to universities following the recommendations of the Browne Review.

David Willetts: The Higher Education White Paper has set out the Government's proposals to encourage philanthropic giving to universities. This includes fully funding the final year of the £200 million matched funding scheme for voluntary giving, which is expected to leverage an additional £400 million in donations to English higher education institutions by the end of the scheme. We will also explore ways Government can support existing mechanisms for voluntary giving, including among graduates.
	Additionally, the 2011 Budget contains a number of measures which we expect to benefit philanthropic giving to universities, including a 10% cut in inheritance tax for estates which leave at least 10% to charities. Furthermore, the Cabinet Office Giving White Paper announced a profile-raising campaign for payroll giving and a philanthropy committee to consider honours for notable philanthropists.

Higher Education: Private Sector

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 19 May 2011, Official Report, column 333W, on higher education: private sector, whether and on what dates the Minister of State for Universities and Science had unofficial meetings with representatives of the other bodies referred to in the question.

David Willetts: I have not held any meetings with representatives of Bridgepoint, Lincoln, Corinthian, Kaiser, Rasmussen, Career Education Corporation and Westwood.
	A quarterly-updated list of all BIS ministerial meetings with external organisations is also available at:
	http://data.gov.uk/dataset/disclosure-ministerial-hospitality-received-department-for-business

HOME DEPARTMENT

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many disabled people are being supported in employment in her Department under its access to work programme.

Damian Green: The Home Office is currently supporting 14 people with disabilities for whom it has received access to work recommendations from the Jobcentre Plus Access to Work Operational Support Unit.
	In addition the Home Office, through its reasonable adjustments policy provides support to all staff with a disability who need reasonable, workable and effective adjustments.

Animal Experiments

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date the Government announced its proposals to prohibit the testing on animals of household products and their ingredients; by what date she expects the prohibition to be implemented; and what the reason is for the time taken to implement it.

Lynne Featherstone: The announcement on the coalition's commitment to end the testing of household products on animals has yet to be made although we will be making a statement shortly.

Animal Experiments: EU Law

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role responses to the consultation on the options for transposing European Directive 2010/63/EU will play in decisions on the future role and operation of the Animals Scientific Procedures Inspectorate.

Lynne Featherstone: The public consultation on European Directive 2010/63/EU closes on the 5 September 2011. Decisions on the options for transposition will take careful account of the responses received.

Animal Scientific Procedures Inspectorate: Manpower

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are in post within the Animals Scientific Procedures Inspectorate; and what the equivalent number was in 2007.

Lynne Featherstone: There are currently 25 staff in post within the Animals Scientific Procedures Inspectorate. As at 31 December 2007 there were 28 staff in post.

Anti-slavery Day

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans the Government has to mark Anti-slavery Day on 18 October 2011.

Damian Green: holding answer 7 July 2011
	The Government will announce their plans in due course.

Arrests

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people were (a) arrested for and (b) charged with an offence under section (i) 4, (ii) 16, (iii) 18, (iv) 20 to 24 and (v) 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 in (A) 2006-07, (B) 2007-08 (C) 2008-09 and (D) 2009-10;
	(2)  how many people were arrested on suspicion of murder between 2006-07 and 2009-10; and how many of them were charged with that offence;
	(3)  how many people were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter between 2006-07 and 2009-10; and how many of them were charged with that offence;
	(4)  how many people were arrested for false imprisonment between 2006-07 and 2009-10; and how many of them were charged with that offence;
	(5)  how many people were arrested on suspicion of kidnapping between 2006-07 and 2009-10; and how many of them were charged with that offence.

Theresa May: holding answer 6 July 2011
	The information requested on arrests and subsequent charges is not available.
	Information on arrests reported to the Home Office is not broken down below main offence group level. There is no link on record between these data and any subsequent outcome.

Asylum

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the UK Border Agency will complete its review of the screening process for detecting vulnerable persons.

Damian Green: The Asylum Screening Reform Programme is looking at improvements that can be made within the Asylum Screening Unit to the physical environment, the screening process and to staff skills. The aims of the programme are to make the asylum system both more efficient and more responsive to the needs of applicants. Improvements to the screening arrangements are already under way; and will continue throughout this year.

Asylum

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the UK Border Agency will pause in its removal of asylum seekers until the new screening process can determine whether those currently in Detention Fast Track have been victims of physical, psychological, or sexual abuse.

Damian Green: No. The Asylum Screening Reform Programme is looking at improvements that can be made within the Asylum Screening Unit to the physical environment, the screening process and to staff skills. The aims of the programme are to make the asylum system both more efficient and more responsive to the needs of applicants.
	If any asylum applicant within the Detained Fast Track procedure claims to have been the victim of abuse, this claim is considered by the case owner who has responsibility for authorising, maintaining and reviewing their detention.

Asylum

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the UK Border Office plans to complete its clearance of unresolved asylum cases following the completion of the Legacy Case programme.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency has completed its review of all outstanding legacy cases. There remain a number of cases that have been reviewed but remain to be concluded. These cases have been transferred to the Case Assurance Audit Unit (CAAU). It will also monitor the controlled archive and take forward any cases that should come to light.

Asylum: EU Countries

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 30 June 2011, Official Report, column 893W, on asylum: EU countries, from which countries she expects foreign nationals to attempt to enter the EU illegally via the (a) Mediterranean coast and (b) land border with Turkey in 2011-12.

Damian Green: All north African countries, including Egypt, with a Mediterranean coast have been used as staging posts for illegal travel to the EU. Libya and Tunisia in particular are currently the main source countries of foreign nationals attempting to reach the EU. The majority of these foreign nationals target southern Italy, predominantly the island of Lampedusa, and Malta. Increases in attempts by illegal migrants to enter the EU via the sea have been seen again this year following the Arab Spring uprisings.
	Migrants departing from Libya are mostly from the countries within the horn of Africa, the sub-Saharan region, central Africa and lower numbers from Asia. Those departing from Tunisia are almost exclusively Tunisians.
	Migratory flows from Tunisia have decreased recently as a consequence of the bilateral agreement reached between Italy and Tunisia, on 5 April 2011, which has resulted in regular repatriations of Tunisian nationals and the strengthening of police surveillance along the Tunisian coast.
	Following a decrease in illegal border crossings at Turkey's land border with Greece during the first quarter of 2011, operational data from the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Border of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex) indicate that this land border section is again facing an increase in detection numbers, mostly due to Afghan and Pakistani nationals trying to unlawfully cross the external borders.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member of each political party has been refused by (a) a Minister in her Department directly and (b) her Department on behalf of a Minister since May 2010.

Damian Green: The Home Office does not keep records of meeting requests that have been declined by either a Minister directly or by the Department on their behalf.

Deportation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to which (a) countries and (b) regions (i) foreign prisoners and (ii) illegal immigrants are not returned; and for what reason in each case.

Damian Green: There is no country to which the UK would not return those with no right to stay in the UK. However situations may arise in relation to any country, where practical barriers temporarily prevent actual removals from taking place. Each asylum and human rights claim is considered on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations and taking full account of conditions in the country concerned as they impact on the individual. Those found to be in need of international protection are provided with it. Failed asylum seekers, illegal immigrants and foreign national prisoners of all nationalities who have been found by the Home Office and the appeals process not to be in need of international protection and have no legal basis of stay in the UK, are expected to return to their country of origin and may have their removal enforced if they do not leave voluntarily.

Deportation

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria she uses to determine whether a foreign national should be excluded or deported from the UK on the grounds that his or her presence is not conducive to the public good.

Damian Green: Foreign nationals who are assessed to be non-conducive to the public good are routinely, but not exclusively, excluded or deported on the grounds of national security, criminality, unacceptable behaviour, war crimes or international relations.

Domestic Violence

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested for a suspected offence under section 5 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 between 2006-07 and 2009-10; and how many such people were charged with that offence.

Theresa May: holding answer 7 July 2011
	The information requested on arrests and subsequent charges is not available.
	Information on arrests reported to the Home Office is not broken down below main offence group level. There is no link on record between these data and any subsequent outcome.

Entry Clearances: Foreign Workers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications were made for a visa by non-EEA workers under tier 2 of the points based system in each region in each year since 2008.

Damian Green: holding answer 11 July 2011
	The number of applications made for a visa by non-EEA workers under tier 2 of the points based system (PBS) by region and in each year since 2008 is shown in the following table. It should also be noted that tier 2 of the PBS was introduced on 27 November 2008.
	
		
			 Region 2008 2009 2010 
			 Africa 32 2,180 2,309 
			 Americas 46 10,172 11,978 
			 Euro-Med 17 3,634 4,718 
			 Gulf 25 1,986 2,866 
			 Pacific 50 8,687 10,828 
			 South Asia 165 25,688 37,491 
			 Total 335 52,347 70,190 
			 Notes: 1. The data are based on management information. They are provisional and subject to change. 2. The figures include dependents.

Entry Clearances: India

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the British high commission in New Delhi will issue visit visas for Mr Kukdip Singh (Reference JLAC-260511-000127-1) Mrs Kamlesh Kummari (Reference JLAC-260511-000127-2) Miss Kanwarpreet Kaw (Reference JLAC 260511-000127-3) Mr Rajandeep Singh (Reference JLAC-260511-000127-4) for which applications were made on 26 May 2011 to attend a wedding of a constituent of the Member for Ilford South to be held on 10 July 2011.

Damian Green: holding answer 11 July 2011
	In order to safeguard an individual's personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, the UK Border Agency is unable to comment on individual cases. The UK Border Agency aims to process each visa application within the agreed customer service standards but it cannot guarantee that all visa applications will be completed within this time. The unique circumstances of each individual case may result in longer decision times. For non-settlement visas the UK Border Agency aims to complete 90% of applications within three weeks, 98% within six weeks and 100% within 12 weeks.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the level of compliance with rules relating to student visas by (a) independent schools, (b) universities and (c) sixth form colleges in each of the last three years. [R]

Damian Green: The Home Office published a report on 7 December 2010 containing an analysis of the compliance rates for samples of 12,656 university students and 5,648 students in other education sectors, drawn from Confirmations of Acceptance of Study issued between April 2009 and August 2010. This report is available from the Home Office website, at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/occ90/?view=Standard&publD=864594
	The report showed levels of potential non-compliance defined as those students whose leave to remain had expired and for whom we could not find any record of them having left the country.
	The university sample was drawn from institutions who were applying for highly trusted sponsor status and showed a non-compliance rate of 2%.
	For the other education sectors, the sample was drawn from institutions that had been subject to a roll-call investigation and non-compliance rates were:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			 Publicly funded FE/HE providers 8 
			 Privately funded FE/HE providers 26 
			 English language School 14 
		
	
	Data from previous years are not available. Further analysis of the data used to produce the published report could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.

Explosives: Arrests

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) arrested for and (b) charged with an offence under section 2 or 3 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883 between 2006-07 and 2009-10.

Theresa May: holding answer 7 July 2011
	Information on arrests held by the Home Office is not broken down below main offence group level.
	However, a separate collection from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) provides information on suspects charged as a result of terrorist related arrests, under Section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883. These are published in table 1.3b of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin, ‘Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation: arrests, outcomes and stops and searches’.
	Available data on charges from 2006-07 to 2009-10 under Section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883 are provided in the table.
	Information is not separately available on charges for Section 2 of the offence.
	Arrests data collected for the Terrorism bulletin are not recorded in a way that shows the suspected offences at the time of the arrest, therefore data on arrests are not available.
	
		
			 Number of terrorism related suspects charged under Section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act1883. Great Britain 2006-07 to 2009-10 (1) 
			 Financial year Number of persons charged 
			 2006-07 3 
			 2007-08 2 
			 2008-09 — 
			 2009-10 4 
			 (1) Principal offence basis

Human Trafficking

Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what work her Department is undertaking with police forces to implement a victim-centred approach to trafficking.

Damian Green: We are raising awareness and providing training to the police to help them deal with victims of trafficking.
	Each of the UK's 55 police forces has a senior investigator trained in dealing with incidents of human trafficking. An awareness-raising DVD has also been provided to all police forces and Stop the Traffik cards have been issued to 10,000 front line neighbourhood police officers.
	The United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) plays a key role in embedding human trafficking into core policing through the delivery of training and tactical advice available to all police officers, including access to a 24/7 helpline.
	On 1 June 2011 the Metropolitan Police Service launched a free victim support line to encourage men and women who have been trafficked into the UK to report the crime to the police.

Human Trafficking

Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with her European counterparts on co-operation in (a) tackling the causes of human trafficking and (b) preventing human trafficking within the EU.

Damian Green: The Government work closely with their European partners on human trafficking matters through the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) liaison officer network, and the European liaison officers based in the UK and at Europol.
	The United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) is also engaged in up-stream prevention work with EU partners and chairs the EU-wide Human Trafficking Strategy Group.
	In June 2011 the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), met her French counterpart, Claude Gueant, to discuss their continued commitment to tackling organised immigration crime, including human trafficking. In June 2011 I addressed the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe conference on trafficking for labour exploitation.

Human Trafficking

Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to publish her policy paper on trafficking.

Damian Green: The Government intend to publish their strategy on human trafficking prior to the summer recess.

Identity and Passport Service: Correspondence

Alistair Darling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the target time is for responding to letters from hon. Members to the Identity and Passport Service; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 11 July 2011
	The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) has a service level agreement to respond to letters from Members of Parliament within 10 working days.
	For 2010, IPS received 1,014 letters from Members of Parliament and responded to 87% of them within the 10-day target.

Identity and Passport Service: Correspondence

Alistair Darling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the chief executive of the Identity and Passport Service plans to reply to the letters from the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West of (a) 25 February, (b) 20 April, (c) 20 May and (d) 17 June 2011.

Damian Green: holding answer 11 July 2011
	The chief executive of the Identity and Passport Service wrote to the right hon. Member on 7 July 2011.

Immigration: Crime

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2011, Official Report, columns 948-9W, on immigration: crime, how many emails she estimates were not delivered because of server errors in each such week.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency has not produced any estimates of the number of emails to the public inquiries mailbox that it did not receive. In the period 14 June 2010 to 12 June 2011 the mailbox was unable to accept emails on four occasions. The UK Border Agency website provides a telephone number for Crimestoppers alongside the email address for its public inquiries mailbox as an alternative method for submitting allegations of immigration crime.

Immigration: EU Action

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to review legislation which enables the European Court of Human Rights to intervene in immigration cases.

Damian Green: While everyone has a right to respect for their private and family life under article 8 of the European convention on human rights, it is not an absolute right, and it is legitimate to interfere with that right where it is in the public interest to do so. This includes in particular where it is necessary to protect the public and to maintain our immigration controls. The Government will be consulting in due course on family migration, and will use that consultation to discuss the operation of article 8 and immigration control. In light of the consultation, we will bring forward proposals which strike a proper balance between the individual's right to respect for family life and the broader public interest, and we will lay immigration rules before Parliament which reflect this.
	In addition, the Government have established a Commission to investigate the creation of a UK Bill of Rights. The Commission will look at the way rights are protected in the UK and we expect it to explore a wide range of different views as it carries out its work.

Immigration: Proof of Identity

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to allow a national ID card of an EU member state as a proof of identity for the Life in the UK test.

Damian Green: holding answer 11 July 2011
	Foreign identity cards are not currently accepted as evidence of identity for taking the Life in the UK test. This is largely because of the large number and variety of foreign documents that University for Industry (Ufi) staff would need to be familiar with in order to ensure effective verification. The vast majority of those taking the Life in the UK test are able to provide another valid form of identity.
	The UK Border Agency will consider whether the list of acceptable evidence could be reviewed. However, any proposed change in practice would need to be balanced against the resource implications of retraining and updating Ufi centre staff.

National Crime Agency: Finance

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the aggregate total is of the comprehensive spending review settlement for the precursors of the National Crime Agency and the costs of the fully funded functions it is agreed should migrate into that agency for its first year of operation.

Theresa May: holding answer 11 July 2011
	I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 July 2011, Official Report, column 1135W.

Non-domestic Rates

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will estimate the revenue raised in Wales by the Security Industry Authority since 20 March 2006; and what proportion of such revenue that has been spent on Wales.

Lynne Featherstone: The information is not available. The Security Industry Authority (SIA) does not raise revenue in Wales or anywhere else in the UK.
	The SIA issues licences to individuals who engage in any licensable conduct so defined under schedule 2 of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. Individuals who are licensed by the SIA pay a fee for their personal licence. The SIA licence application fee pays for all the costs of the SIA across the UK.

Police: Accountability

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) organisations and (b) local authorities submitted responses in support of the proposals in her Department's consultation on police and crime commissioners.

Theresa May: holding answer 11 July 2011
	The “Policing in the 21st century: reconnecting police and the people summary of consultation responses and next steps” document published in 2010 listed all respondents. A copy is in the Library of the House.

Police: Procurement

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which body will be responsible for implementing her proposals to bring together the different police procurement strategies across the country and make them more effective.

Nick Herbert: The Government are determined to take advantage of the economies of scale that 43 forces can enjoy if they work together on procurement. The High Level Working Group on Police Value for Money has agreed a strategy for police value for money. Key elements of that strategy are to drive greater standardisation and convergence among forces in the systems and services they use and a national approach to procurement across the police service.
	The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) at present carries out some procurement functions on behalf of the police service. The non-ICT procurement functions of the NPIA will be transferred to the Home Office Commercial Directorate. On 4 July 2011, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), announced that the Government will set up a new police-led ICT company. The company will deliver greater value for money to the police service through exploitation of economies of scale, stronger ICT procurement and contract negotiation, and effective contract management. The company will also drive greater standardisation and convergence in police ICT by taking responsibility for managing information systems strategy.

Raed Salah

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to announce the outcome of her investigation into the entry of Raed Salah into the UK.

Damian Green: holding answer 7 July 2011
	Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary has been asked to investigate the circumstances of Raed Salah's entry to the United Kingdom on 25 June. On receipt of that report I will set out my plans to announce the outcome.

Raed Salah

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps officials in her Department took on being notified of the presence of Raed Salah in the UK.

Damian Green: holding answer 7 July 2011
	The Government do not routinely comment on individual exclusion cases but in this instance the Secretary of State for the Home Department has considered it is important to do so and he had put the details of his case into the public domain. Raed Salah was excluded from the UK on 23 June as a result of numerous statements he had made, details of which were obtained from a variety of sources across the Government. As an Israeli national Mr Salah does not require a visa and he managed to enter the UK. He was on the Home Office watch list and should have been refused entry as a result of the Secretary of State's exclusion decision. Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary is investigating how this happened now. Mr Salah has been detained and the UK Border Agency is making arrangements to remove him.

Raed Salah

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  on what grounds her Department issued an exclusion order against Sheikh Raed Salah;
	(2)  when her Department notified the UK Border Agency of the exclusion order served on Sheikh Raed Salah;
	(3)  when and where her Department served the exclusion order on Sheikh Raed Salah;
	(4)  when her Department was informed of Sheikh Raed Salah's presence in the UK;
	(5)  what contact her Department had with officials at the UK Border Agency regarding Sheikh Raed Salah (a) before and (b) after his arrest.

Damian Green: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 6 July 2011, Official Report, column 1221W.

Rape

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many rapes were reported in each police area in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available; and how many were reported in the 12 month period immediately previous.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 11 July 2011
	Data for the number of rapes recorded by the police in each police force area in England and Wales are provided in Table A. The latest period for which figures are available is the year ending December 2010. Data for the 12 months to March 2011 will be published on 14 July 2011 in “Crime in England and Wales 2010/11”.
	The number of rape offences shown in the table need to be interpreted with caution. In the 24 month period for which data are provided, it is known that police forces took additional steps to improve their recording of sexual offences, including rape. This may be reflected in the increases in rape offences seen in the data. Extra guidance for the recording of sexual offences was formally incorporated into the Home Office Counting Rules from 1 April 2010. However, some forces were following the new guidance prior to this date, reflecting good practice that the Association of Chief Police Officers had been promoting within forces before this formal implementation.
	
		
			 Table A: Rape offences recorded by the police, by police force area, in England and Wales (1, 2) 
			  12 month s  to December  each year 
			  Rape of a female Rape of a male Total rape 
			 Force name 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010 
			 Avon and Somerset 321 316 38 24 359 340 
			 Bedfordshire 171 104 7 8 178 112 
			 British Transport Police 19 9 0 1 19 10 
			 Cambridgeshire 169 210 15 21 184 231 
			 Cheshire 130 168 16 14 146 182 
			 Cleveland 133 161 13 24 146 185 
			 Cumbria 89 118 7 12 96 130 
			 Derbyshire 275 302 13 23 288 325 
			 Devon and Cornwall 415 499 39 43 454 542 
			 Dorset 195 215 22 14 217 229 
			 Durham 112 133 9 15 121 148 
			 Dyfed-Powys 101 102 16 17 117 119 
			 Essex 342 435 23 37 365 472 
			 Gloucestershire 120 150 13 5 133 155 
			 Greater Manchester 794 720 77 79 871 799 
			 Gwent 162 167 10 19 172 186 
			 Hampshire 535 531 43 47 578 578 
			 Hertfordshire 138 195 9 14 147 209 
			 Humberside 215 348 28 37 243 385 
			 Kent 289 337 33 25 322 362 
			 Lancashire 230 343 20 36 250 379 
			 Leicestershire 235 218 22 25 257 243 
			 Lincolnshire 150 186 7 16 157 202 
			 London, City of 2 6 1 1 3 7 
			 Merseyside 265 309 21 39 286 348 
			 Metropolitan police 2,430 3,025 170 190 2,600 3,215 
			 Norfolk 159 181 9 13 168 194 
			 North Wales 172 152 18 12 190 164 
			 North Yorkshire 139 165 9 14 148 179 
			 Northamptonshire 156 227 7 22 163 249 
			 Northumbria 274 300 38 37 312 337 
			 Nottinghamshire 319 270 31 26 350 296 
			 South Wales 217 216 21 23 238 239 
			 South Yorkshire 210 294 17 19 227 313 
			 Staffordshire 249 226 16 29 265 255 
			 Suffolk 209 213 20 15 229 228 
			 Surrey 194 188 10 18 204 206 
			 Sussex 367 429 30 36 397 465 
			 Thames Valley 495 488 50 36 545 524 
			 Warwickshire 103 112 13 11 116 123 
			 West Mercia 300 253 13 37 313 290 
		
	
	
		
			 West Midlands 783 783 60 64 843 847 
			 West Yorkshire 616 532 57 47 673 579 
			 Wiltshire 130 160 10 10 140 170 
			 Grand total 13,129 14,496 1,101 1,255 14,230 15,751 
			 (1) Includes British Transport police. (2) The number of rape offences shown in the table need to be interpreted with caution. In the 24 month period for which data are provided, it is known that police forces took additional steps to improve their recording of sexual offences, including rape. This may be reflected in the increases in rape offences seen in the data. Extra guidance for the recording of sexual offences was formally incorporated into the Home Office Counting Rules from 1 April 2010. However, some forces were following the new guidance prior to this date, reflecting good practice that the Association of Chief Police Officers had been promoting within forces before this formal implementation.

Sexual Offences

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) arrested for and (b) charged with an offence under sections 57 to 59 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 between 2006-07 and 2009-10.

Theresa May: holding answer 7 July 2011
	The information requested on arrests and subsequent charges is not available.
	Information on arrests reported to the Home Office is not broken down below main offence group level. There is no link on record between these data and any subsequent outcome.

TREASURY

Child Care Tax Credit

Karen Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have (a) claimed the childcare element of working tax credit and (b) claimed more than £120 per week under the childcare element of working tax credit in each of the last three years.

David Gauke: The following table shows the total number of people claiming the child care element of working tax credit, and the number reporting child care costs in excess of £120 per week, in April of 2009, 2010 and 2011.
	
		
			  Total number of families claiming child care element Number of families reporting child care costs greater than £120 per week 
			 April 2009 470,400 142,400 
			 April 2010 488,800 150,500 
			 April 2011 493,000 146,600 
		
	
	This information is also available in the HMRC snapshot publication “Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics” for each year. These can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm

Credit: Interest Rates

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to tackle unscrupulous money lending; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will assess the effects of credit availability on the borrowing of low-income households; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what steps he is taking to protect consumers from excessive high cost lending; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Government are committed to reforming the UK's financial services regulation, curbing unsustainable lending and strengthening consumer protections, particularly for the most vulnerable and believes that consumers should have access to an appropriate range of financial services and products.
	In October 2010 we announced the Consumer Credit and Personal Insolvency Review and launched a Call for Evidence. It took an end-to-end view of consumer credit and personal insolvency; from the decision to borrow through to how we support people in difficulty and help them to resolve their debts.
	The Government will respond to the Call for Evidence shortly.

Departmental Dismissal

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials in his Departments were dismissed for under-performance as a result of the procedures arising from his Departments' staff appraisal system in each of the last three years.

Justine Greening: All staff in HM Treasury have annual performance reviews.
	Unsatisfactory performance is dealt with under the Managing Capability Policy.
	In the period requested fewer than five civil servants were dismissed under this policy. It is the Department's policy not to release further information about staff numbers fewer than five where to do so could lead to the identification of protected personal data.

Economic Policy

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with what frequency he meets the Deputy Prime Minister to discuss (a) macroeconomic and (b) financial regulation policy.

Justine Greening: Treasury Ministers hold regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a wide range of issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to prioritise payments of compensation for older and retired Equitable Life policy holders.

Mark Hoban: As set out in the Equitable Life Payment Scheme Design document published on 16 May, the Government have accepted the recommendation of the Independent Commission on Equitable Life payments to prioritise payments to the oldest policyholders, where it is possible and practicable to do so.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on a fuel duty stabiliser for Northern Ireland.

Justine Greening: Budget 2011 abolished the fuel duty escalator and replaced it with a fair fuel stabiliser. Fuel duty across the UK will increase by inflation only, when oil prices are high. If the oil price falls below a set trigger price on a sustained basis duty will increase by RPI plus 1p per litre. The Government are informally consulting before setting the level and mechanism for the trigger.

Financial Services: Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to promote financial literacy education for those who (a) are heavily in debt and (b) are at risk of being heavily in debt; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Money Advice Service has been set up by Government to promote understanding of the financial system and raise levels of financial capability across the UK. Its services offer free and impartial information and advice on money matters and are available to all online, by telephone and face-to-face. The Money Advice Service has also launched a financial health check which aims to help people proactively manage their money on a regular basis and make the most of what they have got. The Money Advice Service aims to encourage people to better manage their money and so prevent them getting into unmanageable levels of debt.

Housing

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been returned to the Exchequer in payments via the housing revenue account subsidy scheme by each local authority in England in each financial year since 1997.

Andrew Stunell: I have been asked to reply.
	Housing revenue account subsidy surpluses have only been paid to the Exchequer since 2004, when the housing revenue account subsidy system was reformed to remove the rent rebate element, which is now separately accounted for in local authorities' general funds.
	A table showing individual councils' housing revenue account subsidy totals for each year since 2004 has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Measures have been published in the Localism Bill to reform the housing revenue account finance regime and replace Housing Revenue Account Subsidy with a system of self-financing for local housing authorities.

Housing: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from Welsh Government Ministers on the impact of the housing revenue account in Wales.

Justine Greening: The Treasury has been in discussion with the Welsh Government on the housing revenue account subsidy system and proposals for reform.

Income Tax

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has considered measures to exempt from income tax those earning below £10,000 per annum.

David Gauke: The June 2010 Budget announced a £1,000 increase in the income tax personal allowance for those aged under 65, taking it from £6,475 in 2010-11 to £7,475 in 2011-12.
	A further £630 increase in the personal allowance was announced in Budget 2011, taking it to £8,105 in 2012-13. Together these increases will benefit 25 million individuals, and take 1.1 million low income individuals out of tax from April 2012.
	This is part of the Government's long-term objective to increase the personal allowance to £10,000, with real terms steps in that direction every year.

Job Creation: Wales

Owen Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the recommendation in the report by Sheffield Hallam university, for a policy of publicly-funded job creation in Wales.

Danny Alexander: The Chancellor has made no assessment of the recommendations in the report for Wales. The majority of economic levers are devolved therefore many of the proposals are a matter for the Welsh Government.

Minimum Wage

Karen Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average time taken was to consider a complaint of payment of wages below the rate of the national minimum wage in the HM Revenue and Customs compliance team in (a) Aberdeen, (b) Ashton, (c) Belfast, (d) Birmingham, (e) Cambridge, (f) Cardiff, (g) Kilbride, (h) Exeter, (i) Maidstone, (j) Teesside, (k) Portsmouth, (l) Romford, (m) Sheffield, (n) Shipley, (o) Wigan and (p) Leicester in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Gauke: HMRC records the average elapsed time in working days from the date of registration of a complaint from a worker about non-payment of minimum wage to the date of closure of a case. The following table shows the average elapsed time, in working days, for complaint cases closed by the teams specified for the period April 2011 to the end of June 2011.
	
		
			 Team Average elapsed ti me ( working days) 
			 Belfast 121.33 
			 Birmingham 87.22 
			 Cambridge 144.89 
			 Cardiff 132.74 
			 Exeter 171.92 
			 Leicester 79.50 
			 Maidstone 93.44 
			 Portsmouth 198.60 
			 Romford 95.00 
			 Scotland (Aberdeen and East Kilbride) 154.33 
			 Sheffield 97.13 
			 Shipley 146.50 
			 Stockport (Ashton) 162.38 
			 Teesside 148.59 
			 Wigan 117.50

Minimum Wage

Karen Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints obtained from (a) workers, (b) third parties and (c) risk profiling or targeted enforcement action on the part of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) were received by HMRC's National Minimum Wage Central Information Unit in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of those cases were referred on to HMRC compliance teams.

David Gauke: Since April 2011, HMRC categorises complaints as those received from workers. HMRC will investigate all complaints received and in the period April to June 2011, 406 complaints from workers were received and referred to compliance teams for investigation.
	Information provided to HMRC from third parties is analysed using risk indicators and employers with the highest risk are referred for compliance action. In the period April to June 2011, 69 third party referrals were received from the Pay and Work Rights Helpline, of which 48 were taken forward for compliance action.
	Risk profiling or targeted enforcement cases are generated within HMRC and consequently all cases which are generated, which meet the specific criteria being used, will be referred for compliance action. In the period from April to June 2011, 253 such cases were referred to compliance teams.

Minimum Wage

Karen Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many notice of underpayment orders were issued by HM Revenue and Customs national minimum wage compliance teams in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Gauke: HMRC minimum wage compliance teams issued 1,128 notices of underpayments during the period 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011.

Minimum Wage

Karen Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of complaints to his Department on payment of wages below the national minimum wage resulted in a repayment of arrears to the employee in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Gauke: For the period from 1 April 2011 to 30 June 2011, 45% of complaints from workers about the non-payment of national minimum wage (NMW) resulted in the identification of arrears of wages as a result of non-payment of the NMW.
	HMRC does not keep separate statistics on the amount of arrears paid or not paid to workers.

Minimum Wage

Karen Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many national minimum wage compliance officers were employed in HM Revenue and Customs compliance teams in (a) Aberdeen, (b) Ashton, (c) Belfast, (d) Birmingham, (e) Cambridge, (f) Cardiff, (g) Kilbride, (h) Exeter, (i) Maidstone, (j) Teesside, (k) Portsmouth, (l) Romford, (m) Sheffield, (n) Shipley, (o) Wigan and (p) Leicester in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11; and how many such staff he expects to be in each such team in (A) 2012 and (B) 2013.

David Gauke: The number of compliance staff requested, including a manager and support officer in each team, is in the following table:
	
		
			 Team 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Belfast 8 7 7 
			 Birmingham 8 7 8 
			 Cambridge 8 8 7 
			 Cardiff 8 8 9 
			 Colchester n/a 5 4 
			 Exeter 8 9 8 
			 Leicester 7 7 5 
			 Maidstone 7 7 7 
			 Oxford 4 6 6 
			 Portsmouth 6 6 6 
			 Romford 9 9 9 
			 Scotland (Aberdeen and East Kilbride) 11 11 11 
			 Sheffield 7 6 6 
			 Shipley 8 6 6 
			 Stockport (Ashton) 8 7 7 
			 Teesside 10 9 9 
			 Wigan 8 7 7 
		
	
	HMRC is currently undertaking internal recruitment to a number of the NMW compliance teams. Current indications are that HMRC will continue to receive funding from the Department for Business that will see staffing levels maintained in 2012 and 2013.

National Insurance Contributions

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of extending the national insurance holiday scheme to enable existing micro businesses who employ one additional member of staff to remain eligible.

David Gauke: A reliable estimate of the potential cost of extending the national insurance contributions (NICs) holiday to existing micro businesses who employ one additional member of staff is not available due to data limitations.
	The Government have considered the case for extending the NICs holiday to all existing micro businesses but believes the best use of public funds at this time is to keep the NICs holiday as a targeted scheme for those areas in most need of employment support.

Non-domestic Rates: Income

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether additional income from proposed changes to business rates will be retained by local authorities.

Bob Neill: I have been asked to reply.
	The Deputy Prime Minister confirmed on 29 June that the Government would introduce proposals to enable local authorities to retain business rates. We will publish proposals shortly for consultation.

Public Expenditure

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what controls are in place in respect of payments by Government bodies to a recipient organisation, company, individual or other entity which is not within the jurisdiction of UK regulatory authorities and does not have up-to-date audited accounts in the relevant jurisdiction.

Danny Alexander: Payments by Government organisations, whether by grant, grant in aid or contractual, will be governed by an agreed framework document, grant letter or contract.
	In addition, Accounting Officers have a personal responsibility to ensure regularity, propriety and value for money for public expenditure, including the management of opportunity and risk, and that grant recipients are eligible for, and use the funding for the purposes intended.
	In particular, procurement guidance requires Government organisations to establish the propriety of candidate suppliers (i.e. excluding those convicted of fraud, theft, fraudulent trading etc.), and to assess suppliers to confirm their capacity to carry out what the purchaser requires and deliver value for money.

Revenue and Customs: Correspondence

Steve Brine: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average time taken by HM Revenue and Customs and its predecessor to (a) respond to phone calls and (b) take the actions required as a result of receiving such calls was in (i) each of the last five years and (ii) the last month of each of the last five tax years.

David Gauke: For part (a) the information for the whole of the Department is not held centrally. However HMRC have been able to provide the average time to respond to phone calls made to its network of centrally managed contact centres (which handle the majority of unsolicited telephone contact to the Department) for each of the last five years.
	
		
			 (a)  Average time taken to  respond to phone calls (1) 
			  (m:ss) 
			  Year March 
			 2010-11 4:14 3:28 
			 2009-10 1:35 2:37 
			 2008-09 1:57 0:57 
			 2007-08 1:26 1:58 
			 2006-07 1:04 0:36 
			 (1) (a) “Average speed to answer.” The time taken from when a customer selects an option from the call steering menu to when the call is connected to an adviser. 
		
	
	Part (b) —the information is not held.

Tax: Compliance

David Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what analysis by (a) age, (b) family status and (c) income group he has undertaken of customers of HM Revenue and Customs who are subject to compliance or enforcement activity.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have not undertaken any such analysis based on family status. However, I can confirm that they have carried out analysis of compliance enquiries by age and income group for customers who are income tax self-assessment taxpayers.
	The analysis by age looked at the difference in compliance rates between all taxpayers and older people and was carried out for a NAO report looking at how HMRC deals with the tax obligations of older people.
	The relevant section of the report will be deposited in the House Library. The analysis by income looked at the difference in compliance rates between taxpayers of lower and higher incomes and was carried out as part of an internal study.

VAT: Charities

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to exempt service charities from payment of VAT on expenditure on capital build projects.

David Gauke: The construction of buildings intended to be used by charities either solely for non-business purposes or solely for specific residential purposes is zero-rated for VAT, which means no VAT is payable.
	I am not able to extend that relief to other capital build projects run by charities.
	This is because long-standing formal agreements with our European partners prevent us from extending the scope of our existing zero rates or from introducing new zero rates. So buildings intended to be used by charities for purposes other than those described above will continue to attract VAT.

VAT Rates: Consumer Spending

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of the change in the standard rate of value added tax on levels of consumer spending.

David Gauke: The answer to this question falls within the responsibilities of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), and I have asked the OBR to reply.
	Letter from Robert Chote, dated 8 July 2011
	As Chair of the Budget Responsibility Committee of the Office for Budget Responsibility I have been asked to reply to your recent question.
	The OBR has not produced an estimate of the effect of the change in the standard rate of VAT from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent in January 2011 on levels of consumer spending.
	The OBR's March forecast incorporated the estimated impact of policy measures announced at or before the June Budget, including the increase in the-standard rate of VAT from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent that took effect from 4 January 2011.
	The OBR applied a range of fiscal multipliers to help inform its judgement on the impact of VAT on aggregate demand in the economy. These multipliers are set out in Table C8 of the interim OBR's June Budget document. The interim OBR's June 2010 Budget forecast and the OBR's November and March forecasts assumed that the increase in the standard rate of VAT from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent would reduce the level of real GDP in 2011/12 by around 0.3 per cent.

Welsh Assembly Government: Correspondence

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish all correspondence between his Department and Welsh Government Ministers on the Housing Revenue Account and the Major Repairs Allowance.

Justine Greening: It is important that UK and Welsh Ministers are able to discuss policy development and operational matters in confidence and therefore correspondence between Ministers of the UK Government and the devolved Administrations is private.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many disabled people are being supported in employment in his Department under its access to work programme.

Gregory Barker: In common with all Government Departments, DECC does not receive any funding to support staff from access to work.
	We currently have 53 disabled people who have been assessed by access to work in order to determine the level of reasonable adjustment in terms of equipment required. In addition, DECC have a further 17 people who have had reasonable adjustments supplied on the basis of internal health and safety or occupational health assessments.
	We have introduced a programme of assessments for display screen equipment and this is approximately 60% complete. We anticipate the number of staff with disabilities who DECC support to rise as this programme progresses and identifies more staff who require support.

Carbon Sequestration

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he expects the first carbon capture and storage demonstration project to begin in 2016.

Charles Hendry: Subject to the successful conclusion of negotiations with the Scottish Power consortium, we expect the first Carbon Capture and Storage demonstration project to complete construction in 2014-15, and is expected to be operational as soon as possible thereafter.

Carbon Sequestration

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what work he has undertaken on the carbon capture and storage demonstration project regional clusters.

Charles Hendry: The potential for CCS regional clusters was considered in a study commissioned by this Department, ‘A study to explore the potential for CCS business clusters in the UK’ (Technopolis and GHK 2010, URN I0D/511), available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/what%20we%20do/uk%20energy%20supply/energy%20mix/carbon%20capture%20and%20storage/1_20100317095408_e_@@_ccsbusinessclusters.pdf
	Support will be available under the CCS Demonstration Programme for projects that share regional infrastructure, as long as those projects meet the primary objectives of the programme.

Carbon Sequestration

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2011, Official Report, column 1064W, on carbon sequestration, whether he plans to await the National Environment Research Council award decisions before making a decision on further carbon capture and storage projects.

Charles Hendry: Decisions on the Government's CCS Demonstration Programme are made separately from NERC award decisions.

Departmental Regulation

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many regulations that impose costs on businesses his Department has (a) introduced and (b) removed since 1 September 2010; what the net effect on the costs on businesses of such introductions and removals was; and what regulations have been excluded from the one-in one-out system because they address (i) emergencies and (ii) systemic financial risks since 1 September 2010.

Gregory Barker: The one-in, one-out regulatory management system, although announced in September, did not come into force until January 2011. Details of regulatory measures introduced or removed in the first half of 2011 can be found in the Statement of New Regulation in the Library of the House.
	The following statutory instruments imposing costs and benefits on business have come into force since 1 September 2010, including measures classed as tax and EU-derived legislation:
	The Warm Home Discount (Reconciliation) Regulations 2011
	Costs are detailed in the impact assessment, available at:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1414/pdfs/uksiem_20111414_en.pdf
	The Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Termination of Licences) Regulations 2011
	Costs are detailed in the impact assessment, available at:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1483/pdfs/uksiem_20111483_en.pdf
	The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Nitrous Oxide) Regulations 2011
	Costs are detailed in the impact assessment, available at:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1506/pdfs/uksiem_20111506_en.pdf
	The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (Fees) and National Emissions Inventory Regulations 2011
	Costs are detailed in the impact assessment, available at:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/727/pdfs/uksiem_20110727_en.pdf
	The Nuclear Decommissioning and Waste Handling (Finance and Fees) Regulations 2011
	Costs are detailed in the impact assessment, available at:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/134/pdfs/uksiem_20110134_en.pdf
	The Warm Home Discount Regulations 2011
	Costs are detailed in the impact assessment, available at:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1033/pdfs/uksiem_20111033_en.pdf
	The Renewables Obligation (Amendment) Order 2011
	Costs are detailed in the impact assessment, available at:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/984/pdfs/uksiem_20110984_en.pdf
	The Aviation Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2011
	Costs are detailed in the impact assessment, available at:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/765/pdfs/uksiem_20110765_en.pdf
	The Gas (Exemptions) Order 2011
	Costs are detailed in the impact assessment, available at:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/232/pdfs/uksiem_20110232_en.pdf
	The Electricity (Guarantees of Origin of Electricity Produced from Renewable Energy Sources) (Amendment) Regulations 2010
	Costs are detailed in the impact assessment, available at:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/2715/pdfs/uksiem_20102715_en.pdf
	The Nuclear Decommissioning and Waste Handling (Designated Technical Matters) Order 2010
	Costs are detailed in the impact assessment, available at:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/2850/pdfs/uksiem_20102850_en.pdf
	The Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Licensing etc.) Regulations 2010
	Costs are detailed in the impact assessment, available at:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/2221/pdfs/uksiem_20102221_en.pdf
	No DECC regulations have been removed since 1 September 2010. However, DECC remains committed to simplifying the statute book and reducing the burden of regulation on business where possible. Internal reviews of our regulatory stock and engagement with our stakeholders have identified a number of potential repeals and simplifications to date, with the exact process for repealing these currently being explored. We will continue our efforts to identify opportunities to eliminate any unnecessary burden on businesses this year through full engagement with the ‘Red Tape Challenge’.
	No regulations have so far been excluded from the one-in one-out system because they address emergencies and systemic financial risks.

Energy: Finance

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the monetary value was of his Department's investment in (a) alternative energy and (b) clean technology in each of the last five financial years.

Charles Hendry: The Department was created in 2008 and holds records for spending from 2008-09 onwards.
	(a) Direct investment in alternative energy (primarily covering including solar, wind, marine, hydro, biomass, and geothermal energy) has been as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2008-09 91.3 
			 2009-10 128.3 
			 2010-11 139.0 
		
	
	(b) Direct investment in clean technology (defined as Carbon Capture and Storage only and excluding spending on alternative energy included above) has been as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2008-09 8.0 
			 2009-10 15.0 
			 2010-11 57.1

Green Economy Roadmap

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to publish the Green Economy Roadmap.

Gregory Barker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 July 2011, Official Report, column 153W, to the hon. Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier).

Gas: Infrastructure

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the energy industry on the future of the UK gas infrastructure network.

Charles Hendry: Details of meetings between DECC Ministers and external organisations are published quarterly on the DECC website.
	DECC Ministers have had no recent discussions with the energy industry on the future of the UK gas infrastructure network; however, DECC officials have regular discussions with stakeholders on gas network issues.

Gas: Infrastructure

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has made an assessment of the potential effects on the energy market of an increased supply of gas from unconventional sources.

Charles Hendry: Last year DECC contacted a number of academic institutions, NGOs and private businesses to request evidence to help inform the Department's views on the prospects for global unconventional gas production. The responses are available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/int_energy/gas_markets/gas_markets.aspx
	New supplies of gas, whether from conventional or unconventional sources are to be welcomed, as helping to underpin the open, liquid and competitive market from which all gas consumers benefit.

Natural Gas: Housing

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the future role of natural gas in domestic properties.

Charles Hendry: DECC frequently considers the future role of natural gas in the context of its goals to maintain energy security and reduce emissions. Analysis by the Committee on Climate Change in the Fourth Carbon Budget report suggests that natural gas will continue to play a significant role in the UK's household energy supply in coming decades. DECC will be responding to the Committee's report in the autumn.

Nuclear Power Stations: Decommissioning

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with devolved Administrations on the decommissioning of nuclear power stations.

Charles Hendry: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), maintains close links with the devolved Administrations on a range of energy related issues. Officials are in regular contact in relation to the decommissioning of nuclear sites and are working closely with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and the Shareholder Executive to ensure the effective delivery of the NDA strategy, which was approved in April 2011.

Oil: Arctic

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has had any discussions with his counterparts from (a) Norway, (b) Russia, (c) Canada, (d) the USA , (e) EU member states and (f) other nations on the suitability of existing oilfield equipment for the drilling of oil in the Arctic.

Charles Hendry: No.

Thorium

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will discuss the use of thorium with power-generating companies; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: Ultimately it is for the industry to propose what type of fuel to use in any future nuclear reactors, the designs of which would be subject to independent regulatory assessment and acceptance. To date, no potential operator has put forward proposals for a Thorium-fuelled plant.
	That said, the Department is aware of the potential of thorium-fuelled nuclear reactor designs and is in the process of assessing claims regarding its suitability as an alternative to uranium-based reactors in the longer-term.
	The National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) undertook a recent independent assessment, in which it assessed a number of claims made by proponents of thorium fuel. The report can was published on the NNL's website:
	www.nnl.co.uk/positionpapers
	The conclusion was that, while the science is reasonably sound, developing reactors based on a thorium fuel cycle would carry major technological and commercial risks. The resources required to develop these technologies to the point at which they might be deployed successfully at a commercial scale are also very significant.
	To date, both in the UK and elsewhere in the world, this has prevented private industry and government from investing significantly in the development of the technology. No thorium reactor design has been implemented beyond relatively small, experimental systems, while many either exist only on paper or have only had specific subsystems demonstrated. As an indicator of the challenge of taking this technology further, the Chinese Academy of Sciences estimates a development period of at least 20 years will be required before a demonstration thorium molten salt breeder reactor might be available.
	While thorium does not appear to have a part to play in the UK's near to mid-term energy market, we do maintain an interest in its development. The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), has asked the NNL to look further into the wider benefits of next generation reactor designs and to compare the use of thorium and uranium fuels in them. We are expecting the findings to be available by the end of the summer.

Wind Power: Marine Sectors

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will take steps to co-ordinate contacts on offshore wind energy projects in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to address potential concerns from fishing and other marine sectors.

Charles Hendry: Potential concerns from the fishing sector are addressed at a strategic level by the Fishing Liaison with Offshore Wind and Wet Renewables (FLOWW) Group. This is a UK-wide group, comprising offshore wind developers, government and fishing industry representatives from across the UK. It has produced Best Practice Guidelines for Fishing Liaison,(1) that it is currently working to update.
	Potential concerns from those sectors with a navigation interest are addressed at a strategic level with the Department for Transport via the Nautical and Offshore Renewables Energy Liaison (NOREL) Group. This also has UK-wide remit and includes developers and navigation representatives.
	At the project level, the planning process takes into account concerns from fishing and other marine sectors on a UK-wide and international basis, where appropriate.
	(1 )The document can be downloaded from:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/what%20we%20do/uk%20energy%20supply/energy%20mix/renewable%20energy/policy/offshore/groups/file46366.pdf

HEALTH

Funding of Care and Support

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the conclusions and recommendations of the recent report by the Commission on Funding of Care and Support.

Paul Burstow: I refer the hon. Member to the answer previously given.
	As set out by the Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), in his statement to the House on 4 July 2011, Official Report, columns 1232-1234, the Government welcome the report of the Commission on the Funding of Care and Support and will consider its recommendations carefully.

Funding of Care and Support

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the conclusions and recommendations of the recent report by the Commission on Funding of Care and Support.

Paul Burstow: As set out by the Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), in his statement to the House on 4 July 2011, Official Report, columns 1232-1234, the Government welcome the report of the Commission on the Funding of Care and Support and will consider its recommendations carefully.

Decision-making: Consumer Involvement

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that those affected by proposed changes in health and social care provision are involved in the decision-making process.

Simon Burns: This Government are committed to putting patients and public at the heart of decision making about health and social care services. “No decision about me without me” is a fundamental thread running through this Government's plans for improving the nation's health and well-being.

Mixed-sex Wards

Mark Spencer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made in reducing the use of mixed-sex accommodation in the NHS.

Simon Burns: In just six months, the number of reported breaches of mixed-sex accommodation guidance has fallen by 83%, from 11,802 in December 2010 to 2,011 in May 2011. Across England, the reported ‘breach rate’ is now 1.4 per 1,000 Finished Consultant Episodes, compared to 8.4 per 1,000 FCEs in December 2010.

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many disabled people are being supported in employment in his Department under its access to work programme.

Simon Burns: The access to work (ATW) scheme is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions. The Department of Health does not receive ATW support for its disabled employees. None of the ministerial government Departments receive ATW support for their disabled employees.
	The support given to disabled staff by the Department of Health falls within the provisions of the Department's ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ policy, which is compliant with the requirements of the Equality Act.

Departmental Dismissal

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials in his Department were dismissed for under-performance as a result of the procedures arising from his Department's staff appraisal system in each of the last three years.

Simon Burns: The Department has dismissed five or fewer employees for inefficiency in the last three years; five or fewer in 2009; five or fewer in 2010 and none to date in 2011.
	Following Cabinet Office guidelines, exact numbers are not published where numbers are five or fewer to prevent individuals being personally identified in combination with other published information.

Diseases: Health Services

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to support improvements in the provision of therapies for patients with very rare non-cancer conditions

Simon Burns: The Health and Social Care Bill sets out the intention for the NHS Commissioning Board to take responsibility for the commissioning of specialised services for very rare conditions. Commissioning for these services is currently undertaken at both a national and regional level. Future commissioning arrangements will ensure that they are planned and delivered more consistently than at present.

Diseases: Health Services

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will use to establish which therapies will be referred to the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services.

Simon Burns: The majority of new drugs and significant licence extensions are considered through the topic selection process for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) technology appraisal programme, against published criteria. If NICE considers that by undertaking an appraisal it would not be able to add value, then for high cost, low volume drugs for very rare conditions, NICE can send the technology to the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services for consideration for possible inclusion in the arrangements for national specialised commissioning.
	Details of the topic selection criteria and process for NICE technology appraisals can be found at:
	www.nice.org.uk/aboutnice/howwework/howguidancetopicsarechosen/how_guidance_topics_are_chosen.jsp

Glenfield Hospital

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of reducing the number of adult respiratory extracorporeal membrane oxygenation beds available at Glenfield hospital, Leicester, following the review of congenital heart services in England.

Simon Burns: The national health service in England is currently undertaking a procurement exercise to increase the provision of respiratory extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (otherwise known as ECMO) for critically ill adults with potentially reversible severe respiratory failure. It is expected that the newly designated service will be delivered through a number of hospitals to ensure patients have equity of access and receive parity of service.
	The consultation of the Safe and Sustainable review on the future of children's congenital services finished on 1 July 2011. This review has taken account of the need for the NHS in England to be able to continue to provide high quality ECMO for children with severe respiratory conditions but has no implications for the adult ECMO service.

Health and Social Care Bill

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to make amendments to the designation and insolvency elements of the Health and Social Care Bill.

Simon Burns: As confirmed at the debate on recommittal of the Bill on 21 June 2011, amendments to the designation and insolvency elements of the Bill will be brought forward either at Report, or in another place. Parliament will have full opportunity to debate these amendments.

Clinical Networks

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the benefits of clinical networks of operating as managed clinical networks; and what assessment he has made of the resource needs of managed clinical networks to carry out their roles.

Simon Burns: Clinical networks take many different forms; some are discussion forums for clinicians and scientists, others work to improve clinical performance and patient care for a specific patient group, and others—called managed clinical networks—seek to manage patients through specific pathways of care. Resource needs vary according to the size and responsibilities of the network.
	The NHS Future Forum report concluded that networks are:
	“working well to support multi-professional input to deliver improved outcomes for patients”;
	and the Government have committed to retain and strengthen existing clinical networks and to use clinical networks to help ensure that a range of professionals play an integral part in the clinical commissioning of patient care. Further work will be undertaken to define these networks and review their range, function and effectiveness to deliver strengthened clinical networks in the new system.

Clinical Networks

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what means allied health professionals will be able to provide advice and support through clinical senates and clinical networks.

Simon Burns: The Government want the full range of health and care professionals to be involved in the new commissioning arrangements, supporting the NHS Commissioning Board and clinical commissioning groups to design pathways of care and shape services. The Government's response to the NHS Future Forum Report makes clear that they will strengthen existing duties on clinical commissioning groups to secure professional advice and ensure this advice is from a full range of health professionals where relevant.
	Clinical commissioning groups will receive expert support and advice from clinical networks and senates on the design and delivery of services, in order to provide the best care and outcomes for patients. The Government's response to the NHS Future Forum report makes clear that clinical senates will provide advice on a range of issues and from a variety of health and care perspectives, including from allied health professionals. The NHS Commissioning Board will work with stakeholders and the NHS Future Forum on the detailed design of clinical senates, and we will publish further detail in due course.

Clinical Networks

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what processes he intends to put in place to enable commissioners to receive advice and support from allied health professionals if they are not members of commissioning groups.

Simon Burns: The Government want the full range of health and care professionals to be involved in the new commissioning arrangements, supporting the NHS Commissioning Board and clinical commissioning groups to design pathways of care and shape services. The Government's response to the NHS Future Forum Report makes clear that they will strengthen existing duties on clinical commissioning groups to secure professional advice and ensure this advice is from a full range of health professionals where relevant. Clinical commissioning groups will also receive expert support and advice from clinical networks and senates on the design and delivery of services. Clinical networks and senates will have a wide range of multi-disciplinary input, including from allied health professionals.
	Clinical commissioning groups will be supported and held to account by a national NHS Commissioning Board. Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, the NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for issuing guidance to commissioning groups on their duty to obtain appropriate professional advice, for example in relation to working with clinical networks and senates.

Clinical Networks

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times he has met (a) Professor Louis Appleby CBE, National Clinical Director for Health and Criminal Justice, (b) Dr Ian Barns, National Clinical Director for Pathology, (c) Professor Dame Carol M. Black, National Director for Health and Work, (d) Professor Alistair Burns, National Clinical Director for Dementia, (e) David Colin-Thome OBE, National Clinical Director for Primary Care, (f) Professor Matthew Cooke, National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care, (g) Professor Lindsey Davies, National Director of Pandemic Influenza Preparedness, (h) Hugh Griffiths, National Director for Mental Health, (i) Dr Charles Gutteridge, National Clinical Director for Informatics, (j) Dr Rowan Hillson MBE, National Director for Diabetes, (k) Professor Martin Lombard, National Clinical Director for Liver Disease, (l) Dr Anne Mackie, National Clinical Director for Screening, (m) Jonathan Mason, National Clinical Director for Pharmacy, (n) Dr Donal J. O'Donogue, National Clinical Director for Kidney Services, (o) Professor David Oliver, National Clinical Director for Older People, (p) Professor Sir Mike Richards CBE, National Clinical Director for Cancer, (q) Chris J. Rudge, National Clinical Director for Transplantation, (r) Joan Sadler, National Director for Patient and Public Affairs, (s) Surinda Sharmer, National Director for Equality and Human Rights, (t) Dr Sheila Shribman, National Clinical Director for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, (u) Professor Keith Willett, National Clinical Director for Trauma Care, (v) Anne Williams, National Clinical Director for Learning Disabilities, (w) Martin Stephens, National Clinical Director for Pharmacy and (x) Professor Roger Boyle CBE, National Clinical Director for Heart Disease and Stroke since May 2010.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State and Ministers at the Department meet National Clinical Directors regularly in the normal course of business and have done so since May last year.

Kidney Transplants

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many kidney transplants took place in England in each of the last three years; and what proportion were from (a) live and (b) deceased donors.

Anne Milton: The information is provided in the following table.
	
		
			 Kidney transplants performed in England, 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2011, by year 
			  Financial year 
			 Transplant type 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Deceased donor kidney 1,192 1,244 1,271 
			 Living donor kidney 831 931 882 
			     
			 Other multi-organ (1)    
			 Kidney and pancreas 128 143 140 
			 Kidney and heart 1 0 0 
			 Kidney and liver 12 14 8 
			     
			 Total 2,164 2,332 2,301 
			 (1) Multi-organ transplants involving kidneys (deceased organ donor). Source: NHS Blood and Transplant

Maternity Services

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the NHS Commissioning Board will start to host neonatal networks; and what interim arrangements will be in place to secure existing neonatal networks until that time.

Simon Burns: The Government's response to the NHS Future Forum report sets out that the NHS Commissioning Board will be established formally by October 2012 with a limited set of functions, in order to start considering applications for authorisation from clinical commissioning groups. It will take on its full responsibilities from October 2013.
	Clinical networks are not organisations, but rather they are a managed way of bringing together the appropriate groups of al! relevant clinical professionals alongside other key stakeholders—especially patient representatives, to support clinical commissioning groups in improving outcomes for patients in specialist areas. Existing clinical networks will be retained and strengthened, and there will now be further work to define these networks and review their range, function and effectiveness in order to develop transitional and hosting arrangements.

Maternity Services

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to issue guidance to the NHS on the establishment of maternity networks and their relationship with existing neonatal networks.

Anne Milton: In June, the Government responded to the NHS Future Forum, where we agreed to retain and strengthen existing networks so that they cover many more areas of specialist care, and to give them a stronger role in commissioning in support of the NHS Commissioning Board and local clinical commissioning groups.
	It is important that maternity and neonatal services develop and maintain close relationships, but service providers will need to agree how this can best be achieved locally.

Medical Equipment: Safety

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the safety of surgical instruments used in the NHS.

Simon Burns: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will assess and investigate any adverse incidents and allegations of non-compliance with the safety, quality and performance requirements of the EC Medical Devices Directive 93/42/EC which are received with respect to medical devices including surgical instruments.
	At present there is no evidence that there is a widespread problem with the safety of surgical instruments.

Negligence

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to announce further details of the Government's proposals for a duty of candour in clinical negligence cases.

Simon Burns: The Government have made clear their intention to strengthen transparency of organisations and increase patient confidence by introducing a “duty of candour”: a new contractual requirement on providers to be open and transparent in admitting mistakes. This will be enacted through contractual mechanisms. We will set out more details about this shortly.

NHS Commissioning Board

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how he intends to develop local arms of NHS commissioning boards to take on commissioning duties for shadow health groups; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many sub-national structures the NHS Commissioning Board will have.

Simon Burns: The National Health Service Commissioning Board will be free to take decisions about how best to discharge its responsibilities. It is anticipated that the areas covered by the primary care trust clusters now in place will be reflected in the initial arrangements for the local arms of the Board.

NHS Commissioning Board

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS Commissioning Board staff deployed locally to perform direct commissioning and other associated functions will be permanently based in designated areas.

Simon Burns: Details on the deployment of NHS Commissioning Board staff to local commissioning arms have not yet been finalised.

NHS Commissioning Board

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what means he intends to assess when a shadow commissioning group should become an authorised commissioning group.

Simon Burns: Clinical commissioning groups that are ready and willing by April 2013 could be authorised to take on full budgetary responsibility. Some will only be authorised in part. Others will only be established in shadow form. This will be determined through a robust process of authorisation, run by the NHS Commissioning Board, with input from emerging health and well-being boards and local clinicians.

NHS Commissioning Board

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds will be available to shadow commissioning groups prior to taking in their commissioning functions.

Simon Burns: Primary care trust (PCT) clusters will support the development of clinical commissioning groups through offering support, including a fund of £2 per head to support them in the development of their consortia. Where clinical commissioning groups are able, and supported by their PCT cluster, they can take on delegated commissioning responsibilities prior to April 2013, within the current legislative framework.

NHS Commissioning Board: Finance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest estimate is of the budget for the NHS Commissioning Board; and when he intends to publish that budget.

Simon Burns: Sir David Nicholson, chief designate of the NHS Commissioning Board, published “Developing the NHS Commissioning Board” on 8 July 2011. As that document sets out, the Board is at the early stages of development. The Board is expected to assume its full responsibilities from April 2013, and we will publish further information on associated budgets in due course.
	A copy of the document has already been placed in the Library.

NHS: Anniversary

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he attended any events to mark the 63rd anniversary of the creation of the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), was pleased to mark the national health service's 63rd birthday by announcing the launch of the NHS Leadership Academy at NHS London's change through leadership conference on 5 July 2011.

NHS: Conditions of Employment

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 29 June 2011, Official Report, column 872W, on NHS: conditions of employment, what progress he has made on developing an HR Framework; and when he intends to publish it.

Simon Burns: A national Human Resources (HR) Transition Framework which provides generic guidance covering the employment and human resources processes throughout the transition was published on 7 July 2011. This framework is intended to help provide consistency during the transition as well as encouraging best HR practice throughout.
	A copy of the framework has been placed in the Library.

NHS: Reform

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what involvement national clinical directors have had in developing NHS reforms.

Simon Burns: The national clinical directors meet monthly to provide their clinical input to policy development, including national health service reforms. The minutes of these meetings are available on the Department's website:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/MinistersandDepartmentLeaders/Nationalclinicaldirectors/DH_089451

Organ Donors

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that implementation of the recommendations of the Organ Donation Task Force are not affected by his plans for efficiency savings in the NHS; and if he will take steps to retain all the posts that are responsible for delivery of the programme;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of donated organs that are transplanted as set out in the NHS Blood and Transplant Strategic Plan 2011.

Anne Milton: Implementation of the Organ Donation Taskforce recommendations has seen donor rates rise by around 28% since 2008 but work continues at a local, regional and national level to increase donor rates still further to the 50% by 2013 anticipated by the Organ Donation Taskforce.
	Future action will focus on increasing consent rates; ensuring that the potential for donation can be optimised in all cases; and increasing donation from emergency medicine. This will be achieved through a variety of means, including through the clinical leads for organ donation, donation committees and donation chairs in acute trusts driving improvement locally; regional collaboration to share learning and ongoing work to raise the profile and benefits of organ donation and transplantation with the national health service, professional groups and with the public.
	We will seek to ensure that measures to increase organ donation are appropriately incorporated into the new arrangements for the Department and the NHS as these are established.

Commissioning: Advice

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on whose instruction the Specialised Service Treatment Group (SSTG) was established; on what date the decision to establish the SSTG was taken; when the SSTG was formed; what the (a) name and (b) occupation is of each member of the group; and what advice the group has given to NHS commissioning bodies on the commissioning of stereotactic body radiotherapy treatment.

Simon Burns: The Department is unaware of a Specialised Service Treatment Group that provides advice to national health service commissioning bodies.

Commissioning: Advice

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when nominations to the Specialised Services Patient and Public Engagement Steering Group were made; by what means (a) patients and (b) members of the public were selected to sit on the group; and on what dates the group has met.

Simon Burns: Nominations to the Specialised Services Patient and Public Engagement Steering Group were confirmed in April 2011. The patient representative organisations selected to sit on the steering group were chosen in part for their interest in specialised services, for example, the Specialised Healthcare Alliance and Rare Disease UK. They were also chosen in part for their broad interests in public and patient engagement, for instance the Richmond Group, a coalition often major charities. The steering group met on 5 May and 27 May 2011.

Tuberculosis: Drugs

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the supply of anti-tuberculosis drugs.

Anne Milton: Although there have previously been occasional shortages of tuberculosis (TB) medicines, we are not aware of any current national shortages or of patients being adversely affected.
	The Department is working closely with the pharmaceutical industry and the national health service to help ensure that patients continue to get the medicines they need.
	We have set up a group including two of the authors of a recent survey of anti-TB medicine supply (on behalf of the UK Coalition to Stop TB) and other NHS experts to look at what can be done to ensure greater security of supply. We are also looking at improving communication to enable better planning for patients.

EDUCATION

Academies: Admissions

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education who will be responsible for ensuring equal access to academies under a fair admissions procedure.

Nick Gibb: All state funded schools, including academies, are required to comply with the School Admissions and Appeals Codes. It is the responsibility of admissions authorities to ensure that the admissions arrangements they set, having consulted with parents and others as specified in regulations, must comply with the code. Parents, local authorities and others as set out in regulations can refer any admissions arrangements they feel are unfair to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA). Currently for academies these objections are made to the Young Persons Learning Agency. In future, subject to clause 62 of the Education Bill, we intend to see all objections being made to the same body, the OSA. Local authorities have a duty, under the School Admissions Code, to refer any admissions arrangements they feel to be unfair or unlawful to the OSA.
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), launched a full public consultation on proposed reforms to the codes and it is intended that a revised form of the codes, taking account of the consultation, will be made available for admission authorities to use from September 2011. Subject to the passage of the Education Bill, we anticipate bringing the final codes into force in early 2012. One of the proposals in the consultation is that we would wish to enable anyone who has concerns over the fairness of admission arrangements at any school, including academies, will be able to refer their objections to the OSA.

Academies: Sheffield

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 29 June 2011, Official Report, column 881W, on academies: Sheffield, what plans he has for the future position of head teachers who have recently taken over failing schools; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: My answer given on 29 June 2011, Official Report, column 881W, made clear that the Department does not intend to publish a list of the 200 worst performing primary schools in England. With regard to the future position of head teachers who have recently taken over failing schools, we will consider each school on a case by case basis.

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many disabled people are being supported in employment in his Department under its access to work programme.

Tim Loughton: At the present time, no employees in the Department for Education are being supported in employment through Jobcentre Plus's access to work programme.
	The Department for Education provided support for 58 disabled employees in the financial year 2010/11, through its own workplace assessment and ‘reasonable adjustments’ programmes.

Adoption

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of eligible children were adopted (a) within and (b) after 12 months in each local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Tim Loughton: Local authorities are responsible for making decisions about whether looked after children should be placed for adoption. However, they have no authority to place the children with adoptive families unless a court has made a placement order or the birth parents have given their consent. Once placed, the prospective adopter may apply for an adoption order once the child has lived with them for at least 10 weeks.
	A table showing the numbers and percentages of looked after children adopted (a)within and (b) after 12 months of a local authority's decision that they be placed for adoption has been placed in the House Libraries. These figures apply to England only.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to assist (a) disabled children, (b) children with special educational needs and (c) refugee and migrant populations who are not in education, employment or training; and if he will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 5 July 2011
	The latest data show that the overall proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) has fallen substantially from 9.4% at the end of 2009 to 7.3% at the end of 2010. More young people than ever before are participating in education or training, building towards the Government's commitment to full participation as we raise the participation age to 17 in 2013 and 18 in 2015.
	The responsibility to secure education rests with local authorities who have a legal duty in England to ensure that education is available for all children of compulsory school age that is appropriate to their age, ability, aptitudes and any special educational needs they may have. This duty applies irrespective of a child's immigration status, country of origin or rights of residence in a particular area. Local authorities in England also have a duty to secure enough suitable education and training to provide for the reasonable needs of all persons in their area who are under 19 but over compulsory school age and to encourage, assist and enable them to participate. These duties apply to all young people who are resident in the local authority's area.
	The Green Paper ‘Support and aspiration: a new approach to special education needs and disability’ sets out proposals to improve the outcomes of disabled young people and young people with special educational needs. These include access to better quality vocational and work related options, with good opportunities and support to get a job and early and well integrated support through the 0 to 25 single assessment process and the Education, Health and Care Plan.

Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service: Sick Leave

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average number of days taken off sick per employee of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in England and Wales was in 2010.

Tim Loughton: This is an operational matter for which Cafcass is responsible. I have asked Cafcass's chief executive, Anthony Douglas, to write to the hon. Member with this information. A copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.
	The Public Accounts Committee raised concerns about the level of sickness absence among Cafcass staff at its hearing on during its 2010 enquiry, Cafcass's “Response to Increased Demand for its Services”. As a result, the Department's 2011-12 remit letter for Cafcass made clear our intention to monitor progress in reducing sickness absence.
	Letter from Anthony Douglas, dated 7 July 2011
	I am writing to you in response to the three Parliamentary Questions that you tabled recently: The responses apply to England only.
	PQ65027 - To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average number of days taken off sick per employee of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in England and Wales was in 2010.
	The average number of days taken off sick per employee was 11.4 days in the period 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011.
	PQ65028 - To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many persons employed by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in England and Wales were classed as being on long-term sick leave in 2010.
	The number of employees classed as being on long term sick was 242 during the period 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011. Long term is classed as anyone being away from work for a period of 20 working days.
	PQ 65029 - To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) individual and (b) group grievances were taken out by staff employed by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in England and Wales in 2010.
	The number of formal grievances was 39 of which 2 were group formal grievances during the period 1 April 2010-31 March 2011.

Children in Care: English and Mathematics

Edward Timpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of (a) looked after children and (b) other children achieved the expected standard in English and mathematics at key stage 2 in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2010.

Tim Loughton: Information on the percentage of looked after children who achieve the expected standard in English and mathematics in Key Stage 2 tests is available in table 2.1 of the Departments Statistical First Release, Outcomes for Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England, as at 31 March 2010. This shows the percentage of children looked after continuously for 12 months at 31 March who achieved at least level 4 in English and mathematics Key Stage 2 tests for all years since 2006. Information on years prior to 2006 is not available from this data source. The publication can be found at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000978/index.shtml
	Information taken from table 2.1 is shown in table 1; this follows the current practice of comparing the academic achievement of children looked after continuously for 12 months with that of all children. Information on the Key Stage 2 performance of children not looked after can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Table 1: Performance of children who have been looked after continuously for at least 12 months (1)  at Key Stage 2, includes comparisons with all children (2) . Years: 2006-10. Coverage: England 
			 Percentage 
			  2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Children looked after      
			 Percentage who achieved at least Level 4 (3, 4)  in the following:      
			 English 43 45 45 45 45 
			 Mathematics 40 42 43 44 44 
			 English and Mathematics 32 33 35 35 36 
			       
			 All children      
			 Percentage who achieved at least Level 4 (3)  in the following:      
			 English 79 80 81 80 81 
			 Mathematics 76 77 79 79 80 
			 English and Mathematics 70 71 73 72 74 
			 (1) Children looked after continuously for at least twelve months at 31 March excluding those children in respite care (2). Figures for all children taken from National Curriculum Assessments at Key Stage 2 and 3 in England, 2009/10 . (3) Expected level for age group. Figures at Key Stage 2 are based on test results. (4) Although there were 2,400 children eligible to take the Key Stage 2 tests the percentages are based on 1,800 children who attended schools that participated in the tests. Pupils in schools which did not participate in Key Stage 2 tests have been removed from the calculations. See Technical Note 9. Source: CLA-NPD matched data 
		
	
	Information on the Key Stage 2 attainment of children looked after continuously for 12 months for years prior to 2006 relates to children looked after continuously at 30 September each year. Because this data has been derived from a different data source and includes a different cohort of children, the percentages given in table 2 are not directly comparable with those shown in table 1 above. The earliest year for which this information is available is 2000; this is shown in the table 2 as follows:
	
		
			 Table 2: Eligibility and performance of looked-after children in Key Stage tasks and tests, compared with all children, school years ending 30 September 2000 and 2001. England 
			 Number and percentage 
			  Looked-after children All children (1) 
			  Number Percentage Percentage 
			  2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 
			 Number eligible to sit Key Stage 2 tasks and tests 2,700 2,800 — — — — 
			        
			 Number who attained at least Level 4 (2 ) in the following:       
			 English 860 940 32.3 33.3 74 74 
			 Mathematics 810 820 30.4 29.1 71 70 
			 (1) Source—DFES statistical bulletin ‘National curriculum assessments of 7, 11 and 14 year olds in England—2001’. (2) Target level for age group.

Children: Autism

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps are being taken to ensure that children with autistic spectrum disorders receive the appropriate support in school.

Sarah Teather: Schools and local authorities have duties to identify children with special educational needs (SEN), including those with autistic spectrum disorders, and to make appropriate provision for them.
	Consultation has recently finished on the SEN and disability Green Paper, “Support and aspiration”, which sets out wide-ranging proposals for improvement. The Green Paper says that the Department will make available free training materials on four areas of SEN, including autism. Outstanding special schools, including those which focus on providing for children with autism, will be able to apply to become teaching schools, or members of teaching school partnerships, developing their own staff alongside staff in schools in their network and sharing their expertise. The Department will also help local networks of schools develop teachers with specialist skills, such as skills in teaching children with autism, who can be deployed across clusters of schools.

Children: Protection

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many serious case reviews were carried out in each month from 10 June 2010 to the latest month for which figures are available.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 20 June 2011
	Data on the numbers of Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) initiated, following the notification to Ofsted of a death or serious injury of a child where abuse and neglect was known or suspected to be a factor between 10 June 2010 and 31 March 2011, is set out in the table.
	It is the responsibility of LSCBs to decide whether to initiate SCRs, in line with regulations and statutory guidance.
	Decisions taken by LSCBs on whether the criteria to undertake SCRs have been met are normally taken within one month of a case coming to the attention of the LSCB Chair. However, in practice decisions may take longer and may be revisited in light of additional information, such as new medical evidence or the outcome of a coroner's inquest, which may subsequently become available. Therefore, there may be variations in the data included in this table overtime.
	The Munro Review of child protection has recommended how to strengthen the SCR process to enable lessons to be learnt more effectively and the Government will respond by the summer.
	
		
			 Number of SCRs initiated, as a result of a serious incident relating to the death or serious injury of a child notified to Ofsted between 10 June 2010 and 31 March 2011 (includes information available to the DfE as at 30 June 2011 but please note the se  data  are updated daily and are  therefore subject to change) (1) 
			  Number 
			 Number of SCRs initiated as a result of a serious incident relating to the death or serious injury of a child notified to Ofsted:  
			 Between 10 June 2010 and 30 June 2010 6 
			 In July 2010 5 
			 In August 2010 3 
		
	
	
		
			 In September 2010 6 
			 In October 2010 5 
			 In November 2010 6 
			 In December 2010 7 
			 In January 2011 6 
			 In February 2011 7 
			 In March 2011 11 
			 (1) Decisions are awaited on a further two cases.

Pupils: Traveller Communities

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many school age children from Traveller communities there are in (a) England and (b) Northamptonshire; and how many such children are registered at (i) primary schools and (ii) secondary schools.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 11 July 2011
	The number of school age children from Traveller communities is not available. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published population estimates by ethnic group, but these do not have a separate category for Travellers.
	The number of pupils of Traveller of Irish heritage and Gypsy/Roma ethnic origin in primary and secondary schools is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 State-funded primary and secondary schools (1,2,3) : Number of pupils of Traveller of Irish heritage and Gypsy/Roma ethnic origin (4) . As at January 2011 in England and Northamptonshire local authority 
			  State-funded primary State-funded secondary 
			  Traveller of Irish heritage Gypsy/Roma Traveller of Irish heritage Gypsy/Roma 
			 England 3,035 8,425 1,150 4,320 
			 Northamptonshire 61 85 15 16 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies. (4) Pupils of compulsory school age and above were classified according to ethnic group. Includes pupils who were sole or dual main registrations. Source: School Census

Executive Agencies

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the name is of each Executive agency established by his Department since May 2010; and what the development cost was of each such agency.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education has not yet established any new Executive agencies. As part of our reforms of public bodies four new Executive agencies are being established to deliver our key priorities:
	testing and assessment;
	school funding;
	teaching; and
	school leadership.
	We are planning for these agencies to be in operation by April 2012. The development costs of the new agencies will be available once they have been established.

Curriculum

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether there are cost implications for his Department arising from the decision to split the National Curriculum Review into two stages.

Nick Gibb: We do not expect that our decision to phase the National Curriculum review will make a substantial difference to its overall cost, although it could make a difference to the way the costs are broken down between different financial years. We anticipate that, as this review is being managed by the Department for Education, the costs will be significantly lower than for previous reviews of the National Curriculum.

Departmental Dismissal

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many officials in his Department were dismissed for under-performance as a result of the procedures arising from his Department's staff appraisal system in each of the last three years.

Tim Loughton: Information for the Department (in the last three full financial years) is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of staff dismissed for under-performance 
			 2010-11 0 
			 2009-10 (1)— 
			 2008-09 (1)— 
			 (1) Fewer than 5

Departmental Redundancy

Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancies in its non-departmental bodies (a) in 2011-12 and (b) over the comprehensive spending review period.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 23 June 2011
	To date, the Department has asked to carry out a voluntary redundancy scheme for one of its NDPBs. The scheme is for Qualifications, Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) staff affected by its closure in September 2011; the estimated cost is £2.6 million. In order to try and avoid compulsory redundancy, we are making significant efforts to redeploy QCDA people. The Department continues to do all it can to avoid redundancies in the rest of its NDPBs, but can not say they will not be required in future.

Departmental Sick Leave

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many days of sick leave were taken by staff of his Department in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Tim Loughton: Sickness absence data for the Department for Education are available on the Department's website. This confirms 15,086 days sickness absence in the latest 12-month reporting period, ending 31 March 2011:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/departmentalinformation/transparency/a00448/sickness-absence

Family Intervention

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many families received an intervention through family intervention projects in each of the last four financial years.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 11 July 2011
	Official statistics published for the first time in September 2010 shows that 3,518 families were either receiving an intervention or had received support from a family intervention project between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010. Data for families supported between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011 will be published in September 2011. We do not have this information for previous years.

Free School Meals

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the cost to his Department was of the provision of free school meals for post-16 students in each of the last three years.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not collect information about the cost of free school meals. Local authorities and schools fund free school meals from their overall resources, including the Dedicated Schools Grant, which is the main source of DfE funding for schools.
	Free school meals are provided to eligible pupils aged up to 18 years in schools maintained by a local authority, as defined in the Education Act 1996. Pupils aged 19 or over are also eligible as long as their course of study began before attaining the age of 18. Pupils attending FE or sixth form colleges that are not part of a school do not qualify for free school meals.

GCSE and A-level

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what subjects were available for study at (a) A level and (b) GCSE in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2010.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 6 July 2011
	Details of A level and GCSE examinations are presented in “Inter-Awarding Body Statistics” prepared by the Joint Council for Qualifications, copies of which are available in the House Libraries. These publications provide breakdowns of entries and results by subject and therefore indicate the subjects which were available to be taken in each year.

Head Teachers: Vacancies

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to reduce the number of vacancies for head teachers in maintained schools; and what account was taken of the likely effects of proposed changes to teachers' pensions in deciding upon such steps.

Nick Gibb: We believe that the best schools and the best head teachers should take responsibility for developing the next generation of head teachers. We will continue to support the National College's existing approach to succession planning, which is focused on providing local solutions to find, develop and keep high-performing head teachers. Overtime we will increasingly work with teaching schools, as they become established, in order to ensure that promising leaders are identified in each local area and that they have the opportunity to learn from the best in the system.
	Meetings are taking place between Government and public service unions to discuss pension reform in light of Lord Hutton's final report; no decisions have therefore yet been taken on changes to the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS). However, in taking forward reform of the Teachers' Pension Scheme the Government will consider carefully the potential impact on head teachers, including recruitment and retention issues, in the context of the Government's wider education reform agenda.

Schools

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what powers local authorities have to control or direct state schools; and what powers he intends he should have to control or direct academy schools.

Nick Gibb: Local authorities have a wide range of powers and duties in respect of maintained schools. A full list of local authority duties is published on the DCLG website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/decentralisation/tacklingburdens/reviewstatutoryduties/
	Local authorities are able to decide significant changes (prescribed alterations) such as enlargement, change of age range, closure and establishment, to all categories of maintained schools (i.e. community, community special, foundation, foundation special, voluntary aided (VA) and voluntary controlled (VC)) which are proposed either by the local authority or the governing body. Governing bodies have a right of appeal to the schools adjudicator, in most cases, where they disagree with the local authority's decision.
	For community and VC schools, the local authority acts as the admissions authority in respect of school admissions, the employer of staff in those schools and the owner and maintainer of the premises.
	Local authorities may, under section 96 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (SSFA), direct the governing body of a foundation or voluntary aided school in its area to admit a child where, in relation to every school within a reasonable distance from the child's home, the child has been refused admission or has been permanently excluded. Under section 97A to 97C of the SSFA, a local authority may direct other admission authorities for any maintained school to admit a child in their care to the school best suited to their needs.
	Local authorities have statutory powers of intervention in maintained schools that Ofsted has judged as requiring special measures or significant improvement or where the local authority itself has given a performance standards and safety warning notice. In such cases, local authorities may require the school to enter into arrangements with another school or body, appoint additional governors to the school, suspend the right to a delegated budget, or apply to the Secretary of State to replace the governing body with an Interim Executive Board.
	Local authorities may also suspend the right of the governing body of a community or VC school to a delegated budget where it appears to the local authority that the governing body has failed to comply with a delegation requirement or is not managing expenditure properly. In those circumstances, the local authority, and not the governing body may appoint, suspend and dismiss teachers and other staff at the school as the authority thinks fit.
	Local authorities are represented on all maintained school governing bodies, but are a ‘minority’ category unless the school is eligible for intervention, in which case the local authority can appoint such number of additional governors as it deems appropriate.
	In respect of the Secretary of State's powers regarding an academy, the Secretary of State establishes an academy by signing a funding agreement, which provides the framework within which the academy must operate. The governing body of an academy is accountable to the Secretary of State through the requirements of its funding agreement. If an academy is in breach of its funding agreement, the Secretary of State may take legal action. If there should be a need for the Secretary of State to
	intervene more directly in the running of an academy, the academy's Articles of Association make provision for him to do so by appointing additional governors to the governing body of the academy. The Secretary of State could also decide to terminate an academy's funding agreement if the grounds set out in the funding agreement apply. Academies continue to be subject to Ofsted inspections and are also accountable to parents through the achievement and attainment of pupils. The Secretary of State can ask Ofsted to carry out an inspection of an Academy causing concern. In addition, the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA), on behalf of the Secretary of State, plays a major role in overseeing the financial management of academies.
	For both maintained schools and academies, the Secretary of State has reserved powers of direction.

Schools: Admissions

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of applicants to schools for entry in September 2011 were accepted by their (a) first choice and (b) second choice school.

Nick Gibb: Detailed statistics on the numbers of applications and offers for places at secondary schools in September 2011, at both national and individual local authority level, were published in the Statistical Release OSR 06/2011. This can be found on the Department's website at
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000993/osr07-2011.pdf
	Information is not collected for primary schools.

Teachers: Industrial Disputes

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department has given to schools on the payment of salaries to teachers who will be affected by school closures as a result of strike action, but who do not support that strike action.

Nick Gibb: The Department has not issued any guidance to schools on the payment of salaries to teachers who did not take part in the strike action on the 30 June. It is a matter for individual head teachers to determine whether teachers who did not support the strike action should still attend school, even in circumstances where the school was closed to pupils. Regardless of any decision to close the school, teachers would still be able to carry out a number of key responsibilities such as planning and the preparation and marking of pupil's work and as such continue to be paid accordingly.

Teachers: Pensions

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what impact his Department expects changes to teachers' pensions to have on (a) head teachers near to retirement age and (b) other head teachers.

Nick Gibb: Meetings are taking place between Government and public service unions to discuss pension reform in light of Lord Hutton's final report; no decisions have therefore yet been taken on changes to the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS). However, in taking forward reform of the TPS the Government will consider carefully the potential impact on head teachers, including recruitment and retention issues, in the context of the Government's wider education reform agenda.
	The Government have already given a firm and absolute commitment that accrued pension benefits will be protected; and that any changes to the provision of public sector pension schemes, including the TPS, would take effect from a future date and in respect of future service. In addition, benefits already accrued under existing schemes will still be payable from the normal pension age in existing schemes; this will be 60 for many members. This means that those close to retirement, including head teachers, are expected to see little, if any, change to their pension benefits.

Transport Subsidies

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information he holds on the number of local authorities that plan to change the transport subsidies for 16 to 18 year olds accessing education and training for academic year 2011-12.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education does not hold information on the number of local authorities planning to change transport subsidies for 16 to 18 year olds accessing education or training for the 2011/12 academic year.

Youth Services: Finance

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the level of reductions in funding for youth services in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 11 July 2011
	The Department for Education's funding for youth services for 2011-12 and beyond is included in the Early Intervention Grant (EIG). The EIG allocation for Liverpool local authority has changed from £31.06 million in 2010-11 to £27.18 million in 2011-12, a reduction of around 12.5%.
	Money for youth services is not ring-fenced within the EIG. Decisions on funding levels for youth services are for local authorities. It is for local authorities to assess and be accountable for them.